


From Beta to Worse

by ColorCoated



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: A/B/O, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Anal Play, Anal Sex, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Dates, Awkwardness, Bad Flirting, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Blind Date, Enthusiastic Consent, Explicit Consent, Fake A/B/O Science, Gay Bucky Barnes, Humor, M/M, Omega Bucky Barnes, Romance, Sex Toys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-22 18:31:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11973195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorCoated/pseuds/ColorCoated
Summary: Bucky has had a rough couple of days, and his mom repeatedly reminding him that he’s destined for spinster-hood (now that he’s 30 and single) is certainly not helping.It’s not his fault; he’s clearly waiting for Mr. Right...At least that’s what he tells himself every time his mom reminds him to, “Find a nice Beta and settle down.”Dating is hard. Dating as an Omega is a little bit harder.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> A million thanks to my favorite Alpha/Beta/Omega reader [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile). And, yes, I'll make that joke every chapter.
> 
> Trying my hand at an A/B/O universe. Crossing my fingers that you all like it.

Bucky Barnes was having a rough couple of days.

Rough was a good way to describe it, Bucky thought as he walked down the sidewalk, free hand buried deep in the pocket of his leather jacket.

Most embarrassing week of his life was another way, he figured.

He should've known it wasn't going to get better after that date he'd had on Thursday.

Most embarrassing date of his life, he practically grumbled to himself. The guy had seemed nice enough, maybe they would've even gone out a second time.

Except that was never going happen, Bucky mentally pointed out, because he was never going to face what's-his-face ever again.

In fact, he was just going to pretend what's-his-face never existed. He was going to pretend that that date had never happened.

It would be a lot easier to pretend if his cheeks weren't flaming red at the thought of it.

"Jamie?" His mother's voice snapped in his ear, only made slightly tinny by the mediocre connection, "Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, Ma," he groaned, knowing this could go on for a while, "I'm still listening."

"All I'm saying is," and Bucky knew exactly what she was going to say because Freddi Barnes managed to work it into every single conversation they’ve had recently, "why can't you just find a nice Beta and settle down?"

"Ma -" he started because the tired question was one he'd had before.

His folks loved him, he knew this, and his mom's nagging ultimately came from a good place, but he couldn't have this argument again.

His parents, both Betas, didn't understand it. Didn't seem to understand why Bucky didn't want to settle down. Maybe it was a cliché, but Bucky liked to think he was just waiting for the right guy.

The fact that the back of his mind reminded him that the right guy had to be an Alpha was neither here nor there.

Of course, it was 2017, and Bucky wasn't ignorant. He was progressive enough to know that your designation didn't have to mean anything in relation to your partner.

Hell, his bestie was an Alpha and she had had a long term relationship with another Alpha for years before they broke up.

Bucky didn't believe your d-sig had to tie you to a certain person (unless, y'know, literal mating, but whatever), which is probably why Freddi had been bugging him to settle down with 'a nice Beta' for years.

That being said, his parents didn't get it. He figured they may have if their d-sigs had been anything else.

Biology existed for a reason, and it was hard to ignore. Granted, this was so not a conversation he'd be willing to ever have with his folks, but, shit, the needy Omega stereotype came from somewhere. Bucky was a self-sufficient guy, he could take care of his life (and his dick) on his own, but seeing a nice big Alpha? Well, consider that his number one turn on.

It's not like he didn't find certain Beta guys attractive - of course he did, Omegas too, and he sure as hell slept with plenty of them - but he had yet to find anything other than an Alpha that made his blood run red hot.

Not that sexual chemistry was everything, but it was one of Bucky's favorite things.

Betas just didn't know what it was like to have your entire body begging to be filled with a nice, hard -

"Jamie," Freddi cut him off, which was probably for the best considering where his mind had been heading, "I just worry about you being alone."

"Ma-"

"We love you, but you're no spring chicken these days." And there it was.

The spinster talk had increased tenfold since he turned 30 a month ago. Apparently, his mom suddenly realized that he was old news, and was desperately trying to set him up with anyone she could get her hands on.

His 25-year-old little sister loved it. Well, joke was on her in five years. He could only imagine what it'd be like for Becca - at least Bucky didn't have to deal with his mom pestering him for grandkids. Score one for Team Gay.

"I just don't want you to be lonely, Sweetpea."

Bucky's face had finally returned to a normal color after he'd stopped thinking about that disaster of a date, but that embarrassing nickname had his cheeks reddening again.

"Mom," he huffed, finally getting close to his destination.

"I know what you're going to say, James Buchanan," and, oof, there was the first and middle name combo, "but I want you to know that I love you." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he smiled at that because as overbearing as both his parents tended to be, they were still the best. "I love you too, Ma."

"One more thing," Freddi added, which was no surprise because his mom was the chattiest woman he knew, "how was your doctor's appointment yesterday morning?"

Bucky scowled to himself as his cheeks started to heat up again, because he was also pretending the second most embarrassing moment of his life hadn't happened either. 

Go in for your annual physical they said, it’s good for you they said.

Bunch of lying assholes.

"It was fine," He responded a little tersely, trying to brush it off because that was not something he needed to think about.

"Your arm?" His mom inquired with as few words as possible, seeing as that was also something he didn't like to talk about, but for very different reasons that were, thank goodness, not embarrassing.

It had been two years now. The nerves were still shot to shit but nerve damage was unpredictable at best, and he had more feeling back now than he did a year ago.

"Doc says it's doing alright." 

"Okay, alright." His mom sounded relieved and he didn't roll his eyes at that even if his first instinct had been to do so. He couldn't fault his mom for caring. "Glad to hear it, Jamie."

Bucky sighed easily as his favorite bar came into view, "I gotta get goin', Ma."

"Alright," she agreed, "but think about what I said."

"Which was?" He questioned because after a half hour on the phone with Freddi, that could've meant anything.

"JoAnna from Temple? Her cousin's receptionist's daughter's next door neighbor is single."

"Ma-" he tried to cut in, but Freddi wasn't having it.

"JoAnna's cousin says he's very handsome."

For the record, Bucky didn't even know JoAnna, let alone her cousin or anyone else vaguely related to her.

"Stop trying to set me up, Ma."

"I can get his number if you want, and then you'll be doing this work."

Bucky sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself, again, that his mom loved him and this was the way she chose to show it. 

"What's the guy's d-sig?"

"Now Bucky," he could easily hear her admonishing tone, "you know there's more to a person than just their designation. Books and covers and all that."

His mom didn't have to remind him of that, Bucky was more than aware of not judging others by their looks. The typical Omega was slender, soft, delicate; Bucky was none of these things. He worked out at an Alpha gym for goodness sake, and not just because he liked the extra attention. He was tall, broad shouldered, and more muscular than anyone else in his d-sig. But he liked working out, he liked how he looked, and he liked being strong, which meant he was going to continue eschewing normal d-sig stereotypes and that was fine with him.

"So he's another Beta?"

Again: you could ignore biology, but why would he want to? Especially when Alpha guys were already so hot?

"Yes, but a handsome Beta, you mean." She corrected him primly.

 

Bucky groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose again.

“He could make a good date, James.”

Bucky groaned again because he knew that ‘good date’ meant his mom was already mentally planning their wedding. Obviously it'd have to be a wedding since a Beta and Omega couldn't bond the traditional way.

“Do I need to remind you that your grandparents’ anniversary party is less than two months away?”

No, she certainly didn't, seeing as his mom had been reminding him at least three times a week that he had yet to provide the name of his plus one.

"Alright ma, I'm going now." His hand reached out for the door to the Red Star.

"Fine, Jamie. I'll call you tomorrow to talk more about this."

Tomorrow? Shit. At least give him one day off.

"Bye Ma," he continued.

"Goodnight, Sweetpea."

The call ended, thank goodness, as Bucky pulled open the door and was immediately greeted with the sounds of his favorite sports bar.

He could hear the clinking of glasses and mingling of voices as he looked around the warm atmosphere of the bar.

Red Star was technically a Beta bar, which was fine since, despite being owned by a Beta, was equally welcoming to any d-sig.. The owner, Pete Quill, was a pretty good guy and Bucky had gotten to know him pretty well over all the time he'd spent drinking beer and watching baseball.

It's not like Bucky specifically avoided Omega bars, but 1) nowhere else had Goose Island on tap and 2) Omega bars were…

Well, as a gay man, they didn't really appeal to him.

Being a male Omega wasn't strange, per se, but it certainly wasn't common. With a head for numbers, Bucky had always been interested in the statistics of it all.

Omegas made up a third of the population, and of that, 70% were female.

Statistically, if you were to walk into a bar with ten Omegas, seven would be women and only three would be men. So Bucky wasn't an anomaly, but he was certainly in the minority.

Alphas were the opposite side of the coin; although they made up a third of the population as well, a staggering 70% of them were men.

Because biology apparently assumed everyone was straight and tied up in a nice little heteronormative package.

Regardless, that meant that being attracted to Alpha men really worked out in his favor; there were plenty of fish in the proverbial sea.

It also meant that he got hit on by a lot of assholes since said fish didn't have many Omega fish to fish for? Bucky frowned to himself. The analogy fell apart there for a second, but Bucky made his point: lots of strong, hot Alpha men; not so many Omegas.

Things had come a long way, and the idea that Alphas had to partner specifically with Omegas was as archaic as thinking men had to partner with women. That being said, you still couldn't escape biology, and Bucky knew for a fact unlike an attraction to a Beta or Omega, it could be near impossible to ignore his attraction to an Alpha.

Not that he'd want to.

(With the exception of what's-his-face from Friday night because they were clearly never speaking again.)

He grabbed his favorite seat, the bar stool second from the end and directly in front of a large TV screen and flagged down the bartender. 

Gamora, his favorite bartender and Pete's girlfriend, sauntered over to his end of the bar and gave him a wide smile. “Hey, Bucky, was wondering when you'd walk in.”

Without even bothering to ask, she picked up a glass and started pouring him a pint of Goose Island. It may have only been a pre-season game, but Bucky took baseball seriously, and if he wanted to sit in his favorite bar, drinking his favorite beer, watching his favorite baseball team? Then so be it. He deserved it - especially after the few days he'd had.

It's also how he got so close to the Red Star’s owner and bartenders.

“Hey Mora,” he gave the Beta woman a charming smile. “How's it going?”

“Eh,” she lifted one shoulder in a shrug, but there was amusement in her eyes and a smile on her lips, “Pete's dad is visiting so I took every possible shift I could get.”

Bucky laughed in response as she set a glass on the counter in front of him.

“How's everything with you?”

Before he could answer, someone at the other end of the bar caught her attention. Gamora gave Bucky an apologetic smile, but he waved it off.

How was everything with him?

Well, Thursday night he'd had his first ( _and last_ ) date with Scott. Sure, technically he said no more blind dates, but apparently this guy worked out at his best friend Natasha’s gym, and Nat seemed to think he was alright.

Which, turns out he was. Scott was great actually: attentive, considerate, a little bit of a stick in the mud, but still moderately fun.

Scott took him to a jazz club of all places which was as surprising as it was interesting.

Even though Bucky had a thing for blonds, and Scott had dark hair (though not as dark as Bucky's), he was still attractive. His hair was neat and his smile friendly, and overall, Bucky was very impressed. Maybe Scott had seemed a little tense, but it was a first date. Bucky would bet that the guy would probably relax eventually.

They had drinks and moved to the dance floor and the whole club was low lit and enticing. They moved together and it was sexy and sultry, and if the way their hands were all over each other meant anything, the night was just getting started.

The made it back to Scott’s place - bland, but tidy - and quickly into his bedroom. The sex wasn't the best of Bucky's life, but it certainly wasn't bad. If he could think about it without his face burning with embarrassment, then maybe it would've been better.

He didn't expect Scott to spend so long on prep, slowly opening him up and making him needy for it.

Naturally, by the time his date finally got a condom on, Bucky was beyond ready, and maybe something akin to desperate.

And, it's not like he's going to blame it on his designation or anything, but again, that needy Omega stereotype had to come from somewhere.

Scott was inside him, clearly chasing release, and it felt good for both of them. Bucky was sweating and Scott had been breathing heavy, and moving to wrap his hand around Bucky’s neglected erection.

See? Everything had been going swimmingly.

But Bucky was so hot and ready, and it's worth mentioning that it had been a little while since he last hooked up with someone, and he just _wanted_.

Then it happened.

Bucky’s face had been flat on the bed, his legs folded underneath him, with a strong Alpha behind him, inside him, making him feel good.

And Bucky opened his mouth, had been babbling all kinds of words in a haze of lust, but then let out a whine and followed it up with, “breed me, Alpha.”

Thank god they weren't face to face for that.

On one hand, Bucky half thought his partner didn't hear him, because the guy kept doing his thing and jerking Bucky's dick, even though Bucky was full body cringing.

Despite his embarrassment, Bucky came with a grunt, making a mess on the bed below him. A few minutes later Scott came as well, pulling out enough not to pop a knot in Bucky, thank fuck, because Bucky did not want to be in that bed for an extended amount of time after what happened. 

For the first time in his life, Bucky was happy to see his date pull the stereotypical Alpha move of post-orgasm rolling over and falling asleep.

Because Bucky cleaned up quickly in the bathroom and then got out of there as fast as he could.

How fucking embarrassing.

So many things had gone wrong with that. He had only had a couple drinks and was barely tipsy, but blaming the drinks made him feel a little better, so that's what he was going to do.

Firstly, he'd never called anyone ‘Alpha’ in bed in his life. This was real life, not some tacky porno. No one actually did that in real life; no more then bending over in front of some guy and saying something equally tacky and gross like, “come here, big boy.”

Ugh. Why did he say that? It had been a while, that's all. Really.

If that was the worst part, he could probably deal, but it was what preceded that which had his face turning red.

“ _Breed me_ ”?! Ugh. Shame flooded his system at the thought of it. Why was that where his mind went? Better yet, how did it even get there?

Bucky was an enlightened guy, enjoyed sex, and didn't look down on anyone for their sexual proclivities. Hypothetically, he knew ‘breeding kink’ was a thing. He'd stumbled on those videos before, but come on.

He was so much better than that.

Firstly, y’know, being a man meant he couldn't get pregnant at all so biologically what the hell was he thinking.

Secondly, come on. Omegas were people too, much more than bodies to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

He was a feminist for goodness sake!

Shit. He just set his d-sig back 50 or whatever years with his lust drunk mind.

It didn't matter that he was an enlightened guy, there were still those assholes that believed Omegas existed entirely for reproducing, and apparently Bucky liked to encourage those thoughts in bed.

He was not mentioning this to anyone ever.

 _Breed me_. Fuck. He didn't even like thinking about it.

He'd never said that in his life. Why the hell did he start now?

So, sure, he'd been embarrassed. (Was still embarrassed.) But he could move on with his life and just never talk to Scott-whoever again. 

He could probably handle being the most embarrassed he'd ever been in his life at least once.

Except Friday happened.

Bucky already complained plenty about getting an annual physical. Sure, it was probably a good thing to do, and he did need to get a doctor's eye on his arm every once and awhile, but that wasn't the annoying part.

Bucky was pretty sure that any other Omega would agree, the yearly internal exams were not anything that anyone looked forward too.

Well, okay, women of any d-sig got them without complaint, but Bucky and the other 30 percent of male Omegas were just lucky enough to put up with them.

If bending over an exam table in nothing but an unflattering paper gown so that a doctor could insert a finger inside your body and manually stimulate the lubrication glands in your rectum wasn't embarrassing enough, Bucky's body decided to go rogue and make it much worse.

Bucky had asked his doctor once, way back when he was a kid and he'd sat awkwardly through the awful “Growing Up Omega” video they showed to his junior high health class. Why on earth boys got as wet as girls did? When, y’know, it's not like that happened to males of any other d-sig.

Imagine his surprise when the doctor turned the question back at him and asked why Bucky, as a male, also had nipples?

Bucky hadn't even thought about that one yet, but apparently the answer was the very same: that much like nipples, lubrication glands developed in utero before genitals. Lucky for him, he figured sarcastically, when in heat, his body was able to slick itself up all on its own, the same way female bodies did.

When not in heat, the only way to cause natural lubrication was to manually stimulate the glands that produced it. If aroused, much like females, then his body would respond and continue to lubricate itself. In bed or wherever he was hooking up with someone, it was incredibly sexy and hot, and quite possible his favorite bit of foreplay.

In a doctor's office, it was clinical and weird, and, he assumed, uncomfortable for all parties involved. Bucky was an adult though, he could handle it once a year.

That would've been fine, except he wrapped up his physical shortly after and headed back to work. He made it out of the office, but passed some stupid Alpha on the street, and his traitorous body assumed he was already turned on, had already started getting wet only ten minutes before, and reacted instantly to the scent.

It wasn't even a man. It was a woman, which was embarrassing enough as it was, seeing as he was y’know, solidly interested in only men.

By the time he made it back to the garage of JB Barnes Auto, he'd slicked through both his underwear and pants. He had to wear his coveralls with nothing on underneath for the rest of the afternoon.

He hadn't done that since puberty when he was a hot mess of hormones and horny teenage boy.

He was 30 years old and soiled his clothes as a direct result of some good smelling Alpha woman. Like some kind of teenager. He was taking that to the grave, he decided as his face burned at the memory of it.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts and back to the present, he tried to shake it off. He had a good beer and a good game to watch.

His embarrassing week was behind him. It was Saturday night and he was going to enjoy himself.

He turned his attention back to the Yankees and easily settled into it. Despite the fact that there were booths along the two sides of the bar, it was a sports bar for a reason, and most patrons were sitting at the actual bar so that they could face the large TV screens.

Pre-season baseball was no joke.

Just after the third inning, a man dropped onto the barstool one away from his.

Shit.

Bucky did his best to keep his eyes on the TV screen in front of him, but it wasn't easy.

The man, obviously an Alpha, and quite possibly the hottest man Bucky had ever seen, settled quietly on the barstool before waving at Mora after she looked in his direction.

The first thing Bucky noticed, because it'd be impossible not to notice, was that the guy was built. Wearing a dark colored Henley shirt that was a bit on the tight side, Bucky could easily make out muscled biceps and strong shoulders. Slightly embarrassed at how long it took Bucky to look away, he noticed a warm smile that was nearly as attractive as those jacked arms.

Beefy guys always did make Bucky weak in the knees.

Beefy opened his mouth to say something, but Mora beat him to it.

“It's just the third inning, don't worry.”

The man looked relieved, “Oh thank goodness.”

She shook her head like she was amused, and maybe Bucky subtly watched the whole exchange from the corner of his eye.

“Stella when you get a chance?” Beefy asked and Bucky would be lying if he said he didn't like that smooth, deep voice. It was definitely sexy and he wouldn't mind hearing more of it.

As Mora placed a full glass in front of the handsome stranger, Bucky watched as the guy settled more comfortably on his stool and his eyes focused on the TV in front of them.

Bucky waited until the man lifted the glass to casually glance to his right, acting as if his eyes were scanning the whole bar.

Bucky quickly returned his eyes back to the game, pleasantly surprised to see no ring on the man's left hand, or no bond mark on the left side of the man's neck.

How about that.

Granted, with the luck he'd been having over the last week, Bucky could probably assume that said Beefcake was straight. 

If he was playing the numbers game, then statistically the guy was definitely straight. 

If Bucky breathed in deeply, which he did (but only once because he was an adult with self control), he could catch the Alpha scent, strong and enticing.

Bucky could bet that Beefy had his pick of petite, little female Omegas. With a body like that, and a face to match, he could probably have any woman he wanted. 

Not that Bucky was bad looking by any means, he liked to think of himself as ‘ruggedly handsome’. He was big, bigger than most Omegas, but he wasn't going to skip leg day any time soon so he was staying this way. So, sure, he was muscled, but he liked to think his frame wore it well. His hair was long, hanging a few inches past his chin, but perpetually tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Despite managing to shave once a week, his chin was typically covered in stubble that was as dark as the engine grease that almost always stained his fingers and hands. 

He certainly wasn’t the “pretty” type, like most Omegas were, but Bucky wasn't going to let something as simple as his d-sig dictate his life choices.

If he were, he would've ended up in one of those pink collar careers everyone assumed Omegas would take up if they chose to work. Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course not, and there wasn't anything wrong with staying home and raising kids either; it just wasn't what Bucky wanted.

Thank fuck for progressive parents who didn't try to put him in some d-sig box. Hell, his sister was a Beta and their folks raised them both the same.

The stranger slapped the counter as the Yankees hit a double and Bucky was suddenly a little more interested.

Of all the things to happen, Bucky was pleasantly surprised that the Alpha only glanced his direction. Sure, it made the possibility of the guy being straight more likely, but it also made the possibility of him being an asshole way less likely.

Being an Omega meant being often stereotyped, which sucked, so Bucky tried his best not to do the same to others, especially Alphas.

But, well, stereotypes certainly came from somewhere, most likely toxic masculinity, and he'd seen the AlphaBro type confirmed multiple times.

There was a homerun moment where Bucky couldn't stop himself from jumping to his feet and pumping the fist of his good arm, which resulted in Beefy holding up his glass and clinking it against Bucky's in celebration. That part may have made his stomach flip flop, but Bucky refused to push it because if homeboy was straight, then he'd end up on day three of embarrassment and that wasn't going to happen.

As the game progressed, he and Beefy seemed to be cheering at the same moments. At one point, the guy looked over at Bucky and gave him a wide smile, which made Bucky's heart skip a beat. Bucky played it cool and smiled back, all while thinking of climbing the dude like a tree.

Obviously, he was a romantic at heart.

“I said no thank you.” A pinched, stern voice caught Bucky's attention and his head swiveled to the far right to see what was happening.

He held back a sigh. The scene was, unfortunately, far from atypical.

The voice clearly belonged to a woman sitting alone in a small booth. She was obviously an Omega and her body was facing a TV screen that wasn't showing the Yankees, but was displaying a different game.

It was easy to assume she was probably here to sit back and enjoy the game, much like Bucky.

Granted, how anyone could enjoy a pre-season Cubs game was beyond Bucky, but he figured the team was irrelevant at this point.

She was clearly rejecting the big dude leaning towards her table. Judging by his body language and unconvinced way he lifted his eyebrows, Bucky kind of assumed he was a jerk.

“Aww, c’mon, just one drink.”

The woman turned her body away from the dude, but he clearly didn't get the message.

Beefy got up from his stool and Bucky lifted an eyebrow in interest. This would be interesting. It's not like he hadn't see the equivalent of an Alpha pissing contest before, but the guy near him was wearing a very tense expression which probably meant trouble.

Ugh.

Bucky watched, fairly impressed at just how _beefy_ the guy actually was. He was all muscle, and his frame easily had a good five or six inches on the other Alpha, which was super obvious as he approached.

“I heard her say she's not interested.” That deep voice stated clearly, with a certain intensity that made Bucky's heart skip another beat.

The other guy, Jerk Face, Bucky labeled him, took a look at Beefy and seemed to be weighing his options. Alpha aggression was no joke, but come on, this was his favorite bar and the last thing Bucky wanted was to miss the last inning of his game because two idiots couldn't be mature enough to use their words.

Beefy arched one beautifully sculpted eyebrow and the crease on his forehead deepened. “We have a problem?”

Luckily, Jerk Face seemed to realize it wasn't worth the fight, or risk of being kicked out of the bar, and muttered something Bucky couldn't catch before shooting the young woman a dirty look and walking the opposite direction.

Bucky tried his best to reserve judgement, really he did, but if Beefy wasn't going to turn to the lady and act like his was owed something because of his successful posturing, then he'd be surprised.

As Beefy offered the woman a timid smile and actually blushing cheeks, it turns out Bucky was surprised. Beefy gave her a polite nod, and didn't actually say anything to her, before ambling back over to his bar stool.

It's not like all guys were jerks, or all Alphas even, Bucky knew this, but it seemed like more often than not, the ones hanging out alone and drinking weren't the best kind. 

Maybe he was a little bit of an ass for being so surprised, and he could hear his mom's voice in his head reminding him again about not judging a book by its cover.

Beefy drained what was left in his glass before dropping some bills on the counter, clearly tipping Gamora generously.

Not that Bucky was looking, of course, but his ma also always said you could judge someone on how much they tipped.

That he did believe was true.

As Beefy stepped away from the counter and headed back towards the door, Bucky accidentally on purpose looked at his ass.

You can definitely judge how much you'd like to see someone naked by how good their ass looks in a well-fitting pair of jeans.

That was also true.

And it this case? Well, Bucky would jump at the chance.

With the game winding down, Bucky finished his own drink.

At least he was able to get through one day without anymore embarrassing missteps.

Y’know, unless you counted the part where his mom basically reminded him that he was destined to die alone.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million thanks to my Beta [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile). She sounds like a Beta that Bucky would fall for.
> 
> So glad to hear you lovely readers are liking it so far. I love you all!

"I'll have you know," Bucky started, matching his words with a grunt as he reached over to pick up a crescent wrench, "that I am a highly skilled mechanic."

"Oh," Natasha smirked, lifting her eyebrow in a teasing manner before hopping up on Bucky's workbench and sitting down comfortably. "I'm sure you are. In fact, I never said the opposite."

"I build cars, y'know," he grumbled quietly, repeating the same thing he always did when Natasha showed up looking for his help. "Classic cars," he added to himself as she just hummed. His voice was practically a whine as he finished petulantly, "I'm an artist."

"Yup," she agreed, but was clearly placating his annoyed mumbling.

He wasn't lying either, he really did build (and rebuild) classic cars. JB Barnes Auto, or Auto Repair & Stuff as he had planned on naming it before his little sister got her hands on his business plan and slapped his name onto it, was his home away from home.

Technically, it was his home under his home since the landlord gave him a hell of a deal on the two bedroom apartment above the garage.

The garage wasn't that big, but he could still house 3-4 cars at a time. The rent was affordable and he brought in enough to cover all his expenses and pay the salary for Darcy, his receptionist who was worth her weight in gold, and still have some money for his own pockets. He'd thought about expanding into the attached unit that was currently up for rent, but had dismissed the thought as he didn't want to stretch himself too thin.

Business was, luckily, booming, mostly because Bucky's speciality lay within classic cars and motorcycles. Most automotive shops repaired current cars and didn't do the specialty work Bucky did, so he'd found himself in a bit of a niche market. 

Couple that with the fact that the people who owned classic cars were, typically, collectors who had money. And said collectors were very happy to hire someone who was familiar with classics.

His childhood fascination of taking things apart and putting them back together was certainly paying off in the long run.

It was an odd career choice, for an Omega, but it was Bucky's passion and he couldn't imagine himself doing anything else.

"Then why," he dropped the crescent wrench onto the floor next to him, where he was squatting down, and picked up a pair of pliers instead, "do you and Clint do this to me?"

"Because," he didn't look up at Natasha but could still hear the smile in her voice, "we're your best friends and you love us?"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled in response as he wiped his hands on a shop towel and looked at the partially disassembled engine in front of him. He sighed. "Seriously, why doesn't Clint just buy a new lawn mower?"

She shrugged, smile still playing on her lips. "He likes this one."

"I know he likes this one," Bucky rolled his eyes as he began putting the glorified piece of crap back together. "But did you ever think that buying a new one would save the trouble of having to lug this one all the way here every two weeks so that I can Frankenstein it back together after it falls apart?"

"Frankenstein it?" Her voice was overly teasing as she elongated the syllables, "But, Bucky, I thought you were an artist?"

Bucky rolled his eyes as he stood back up, still attempting to wipe the grease off his hands but wondered if it was pointless. He did the best he could then stuffed part of the rag into his back pocket.

His old coveralls had gotten so stained with grease and oil that he eventually had Darcy throw them all out and order replacements.

Since he gave the non-specific order, it was clearly his fault that Darcy had ordered ten new sets of coveralls in a variety of colors. Two were in the standard light blue that he favored, but there were a pair of each in light pink, bright purple, highlighter yellow, and fire engine red. All ten included his name embroidered in black over the left side of his chest, so he clearly couldn't return them.

He really hated the yellow, but, even though he never planned on telling Darcy, the purple was really growing on him.

He stood up, the rickety lawn mower now in the best shape it was going to get, which honestly wasn't that great.

"Seriously," he continued, "a new one is only like 300 bucks. Tell Clint he needs a new one."

"You tell him that like every week," she shrugged, nonchalant about her boyfriend's habits, "he likes this one."

Bucky shook his head. "There's nothing to like about this one."

She grinned. "He's sentimental."

Bucky shook his head ruefully, but managed a chuckle. Clint was one of his best friends, but the guy was sentimental about everything. There was no reason to keep a lawn mower that was on its last legs. Certainly not if Bucky had to repair it every few weeks.

Bucky ambled over to the utility sink to scrub his hands, keeping an eye on the clock as he did.

"So," Natasha began, curiosity evident in her voice, "how'd it go with Scott last week?"

Thankful his back was to her, Bucky felt his face warm up. He cleared his throat before he answered, speaking up so she could hear him over the water. "He was fine. He was a nice guy, really, but he's not the guy for me."

He shrugged as he turned back around, frowning at himself as he dried his hands on the rag that was in his pocket. That rag that was already grease stained and adding fresh streaks to his hands. He grumbled to himself before turning around to wash his hands again.

"That's too bad," Natasha responded, voice sounding only marginally disappointed.

He lifted a shoulder in response as he scrubbed under his fingernails.

"You've got another date today, right?"

"Yeah," he dried his hands with a clean rag this time, before stepping over to his friend. He dropped his body onto the stool near his workbench before he continued. "Just a lunch date though."

"Lunch seems more ambitious than getting a coffee or a drink."

He shook his head, "The way I see it, it's a Monday. Lunch break is only an hour before I have to get back to work."

She was almost laughing, "You own the business, Bucky."

"Which means I have a lot to get done today. And besides, this way, if he's a dud, I've only lost an hour of my time."

"And if he isn't?" The wink that went along with her question was clearly implying something salacious, but Bucky laughed it off.

"Then I ask him out for dinner later in the week."

"Fair enough," she hopped off the bench and Bucky cringed as his set of screwdrivers rolled off the countertop with her. "What's this guy's name again?"

"Mel," he answered with a grimace, because based on names alone, it wasn't great. Unfortunately, that's really all he had to go on this time, which could be a reason why he kept swearing he was done with blind dates (even if he actually wasn't).

"Mel?" Natasha questioned thoughtfully, grinning playfully back at him. "Sounds like a middle-aged Jewish man."

He couldn't hold back a laugh at that one and returned her grin. "Well, my ma would love that."

"Freddi would be over the moon." She agreed.

Bucky laughed but he secretly cringed at just how true that was.

“Who set you up with this one?”

“I shouldn't even tell you this,” he sighed and looked over at her interested expression before continuing. “You know Becca's roommate? Her cousin -”

“What?” Natasha questioned in response. “Her roommate’s cousin doesn't sound so bad?”

He held back a second sigh as he continued where she had inadvertently cut him off. “‘s wife's brother’s roommate.”

“Bucky!” Natasha laughed out loud, clearly fully aware that this was already a recipe for disaster.

“I know, I know,” he sounded resigned, “but supposedly said cousin’s wife’s brother was just going on and on how he, and I quote, ‘had the perfect person for me’.”

She seemed to consider it, “And you know this guy very well?”

Now, he did sigh a second time, “No, I haven't met the brother or the wife or even the cousin. Apparently Becca's roommate was telling her cousin all about my sad dating life because Becca thinks it's hilarious and talks about it at home all the time.”

Bucky did not approve of how amused Nat looked about this.

"You're really stacking the deck lately," she sounded curious. "Especially for someone who keeps saying he's over blind dates, you had one on Thursday and one today."

"Nat," he practically groaned, "I don't have a choice. I have to meet someone. I cannot bring a blind date to Bubbee and Pop Pop's anniversary party. It has to be someone that I've gone out with at least one to three times previously. Although three would probably be better."

She looked skeptical, "Isn't that party in like two months?"

He narrowed his eyes and shot her a look. "I'm aware of the timeline, Nat."

"You could just go solo. It's not a wedding, people won't be expecting you to have a date."

"I can't," he sighed dramatically. "And you know why! The last big family event was my cousin's wedding two years ago, and you know who my date was?"

She nodded, because everyone remembered who Bucky had been dating two years ago.

More like, everyone could not forget who Bucky had been dating two years ago.

"Exactly," he groaned again. "The last guy my family saw me with was that asshole Rumlow."

He hadn’t dated anyone seriously since the blip in his life called ‘The Rumlow period’ that he liked to pretend no longer existed. He'd dated casually, had a friend with benefits he'd regularly partnered with for heat sex, but had yet to get past the second or third date with anyone.

"Still can't believe you two dated for over a year."

"I still can't believe he was the one to dump my ass, and not the other way around." He grumbled in response, because his ex-boyfriend really was the king of all assholes. He had not been Bucky's best decision.

Natasha nodded in agreement.

"So, right," Bucky continued, "they all think that I just date assholes. It's always 'poor Bucky' and 'he's still unbonded' and 'it must be so hard for Freddi and George, having an Omega for a son'."

"Hey," Natasha cut him off sharply, and Bucky's nose wrinkled as he was suddenly surprised by the scent of an unhappy Alpha. "You know your parents love you, no matter what d-sig you happen to have. You're an Omega, but you're also fucking awesome. Those two aren't mutually exclusive."

He smiled softly, "No, I know. I don't think my folks believe that at all. But I've got extended family and something twice removed that surely do. You know the stats as well as I do; Beta/Beta couples have a 75% chance of having Beta children. Sometime I feel like I stand out in a sea of Beta Barneses."

Her head tilted to the side kindly, "You're not the only one in your family who isn't a Beta."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, "there aren't very many of us."

She paused before continuing, and actually started picking up his screwdrivers as she did so. "Well, think of it this way: it won't be hard to find a date better than Rumlow."

He groaned as she continued with a smirk.

"Anyone is better than Rumlow."

Shortly after he helped load Clint's lawnmower into Natasha's truck, he quickly changed from his pink coveralls to jeans (jeans that made his already amazing ass look even more amazing, by the way) and a long sleeve tshirt. Bucky waved goodbye to Darcy and headed out to meet this Mel at a café walking distance from his garage. He didn't know what Natasha was talking about, he'd really orchestrated this whole thing in case there was need for a quick getaway.

He was told Mel would be dressed in a black and yellow striped shirt, which he hoped meant it would be hard to find the guy. There weren't very many men dressed like bumble bees traversing around Brooklyn he figured.

“Excuse me,” a voice behind him started and he turned towards it, “are you Bucky?”

Bucky's jaw dropped and he did a poor imitation of a fish as he tried to pick it back up. He nodded dumbly, briefly acknowledging the appropriate colored top.

“Oh good. Your dark hair and little ponytail gave you away,” there was a short pause. “I'm Mel,” a small hand was thrust toward him, “nice to meet you.”

He swallowed roughly, as he shook the offered hand.

“Uh, I’m Bucky,” he cleared his throat uncomfortably, “Bucky Barnes.”

Mel was clearly a Beta, the scent obvious and unsurprising.

The surprising part of it was that Mel was also very female. She had short, cropped hair, and soft comfortable curves, and she looked like a nice enough person, but she was still very much a woman.

That was literally the only thing he didn’t look for in a partner.

He swallowed again, not sure what else to say. Maybe he should just come out with it? Just tell her this was a simple misunderstanding?

“I grabbed us a table over there,” she indicated the corner closest to them, with a smile. Before he could even start talking, she was grinning at him. “I can't even tell you how relieved I am! I never do blind dates because you never know what the other person will be like-” Yeah, you're telling him. “-but I'm so relieved you're just a normal guy.”

“Well-”

“And,” her cheeks blushed a light pink color, “it's so hard to meet people, y’know? But Bradley insisted you'd be the right guy for me.”

He held back a grimace as he'd wished that Bradley had assured him of the same thing.

“Mel,” he started slowly, slightly concerned at the way she was eyeing him.

She was stepping towards the table and started to sit down. She waved a hand in the air, dismissing him, “I know what you're gonna say.”

He highly fucking doubted it. 

His voice edged on slight panic as he questioned her. “You do?”

But she was seated and he didn't want to be rude, so he awkwardly sat in the chair across from her, his butt precariously perched on the edge of the seat so he could potentially get up quickly and run away.

“You're wondering why I even agreed to a blind date at all. I mean, we both know Bradley isn't the most convincing.”

“Uhh.” Actually, Bucky didn't know that at all. His palms were sweating a little bit and he rubbed at the back of his neck, unsure how to extricate himself from the situation.

In fact, he was pretty sure he was just getting in deeper.

“I'll be honest with you, Bucky,” she looked abashed. “I got out of a long term relationship a few months ago and I've been really hesitant to put myself out there. It's hard, y’know? I got hurt and I didn't think I was ready to start dating again, but Bradley’s brother went on and on about how nice you were.”

Aw, hell. Now there was no possible way he could just get up and walk away.

He had no idea who Bradley or his brother was, but he didn't quite know how to express that when they apparently acted like they knew him so well.

“Uh, thanks?” He sounded just as unsure as he felt. What was he supposed to do?

The only thing he was sure about was that this was now the most embarrassing date of his life. Forget Thursday with what's-his-face, at least that date came with an orgasm. This date though? This was the worst.

Bucky blinked at Mel before looking around to either side of him. Everyone else seemed to be eating their lunch, and was completely unaware of the slow motion disaster that was happening at Bucky's table.

He needed to end this.

“So, Bucky,” her voice was perky and she folded her hands politely on the table in front of her. “What do you do? Are you a school teacher? Office assistant? Nanny?”

Bucky's eyes narrowed unpleasantly. There was nothing wrong with those jobs - especially teachers because they worked fucking harder than most people even though no one ever seemed to recognize it - but it he did take personal offense to the fact that she's pegged him as working some typical pink collar career. Fucking Omega stereotypes.

She was a Beta, and Bucky didn't go around making assumptions about her.

“I'm a mechanic,” he responded tersely, never once regretting what he chose to do with his life.

“Oh,” she looked surprised, but tried to smooth it over by continuing, “I'm in corporate finance.”

Mel started blathering on all about her career, but Bucky wasn't interested. He obviously wasn't interested in her as a potential partner, but after that job comment, he wasn't interested in making a friend either. The plus side was, now he didn't feel so uncomfortably awkward about extricating himself from this date.

“Mel,” he interrupted gently, still slightly perturbed, but more anxious to actually get out of this mess, “I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I think I should tell you that this isn't going to work.”

She grimaced, looking sadly contemplative, “is it the kid thing?”

He frowned. That was a pretty intimate question for a first date, and a blind date no less, but he could assume why she'd ask. Alpha/Omega couples could reproduce, as could Beta/Beta, but that was it. Granted, Bucky resented the fact that she was assuming he wanted kids just because of his d-sig.

The fact that she thought he'd end a date all of five minutes into it because he couldn't have hypothetical children with her in a hypothetical future, seemed fairly shallow. As he continuously pointed out to anyone who was listening, many Omegas had more ambitions than spending their lives child rearing. Why was that so hard to believe?

If he could find a date that didn't completely stereotype him because of his designation, he'd eat his yellow coveralls.

“No,” he answered firmly, because her question was a little rude. He didn't take any digs at her for clearly not wanting a family. “I'm gay.”

“Oh,” her mouth formed a perfect little ‘o’ shape as she sat there awkwardly, clearly not knowing what to say.

Well, they had one thing in common, because Bucky didn't know where the hell to go from here.

“I'm just gonna…” he made a vague gesture towards the door before Mel nodded uncomfortably, and Bucky stood quickly and stepped out of the café.

Never again.

He was never going on a blind date ever again.

He sighed heavily as he started the 15 minute walk back to work. Nat was going to ask how lunch went and he was sure he'd never live it down.

This was, probably, the worst date yet. At least Mel hadn't been an asshole. She was the wrong gender, but he wondered if that was the worse thing that could've happened? Granted, he probably shouldn't imagine something worse because then it would most definitely happen to him as well.

Knowing that he'd need coffee to get through the rest of the day after not even getting lunch out of that deal, he took a right turn so he could stop by his favorite hole in the wall coffee shop. It was local, and he was convinced they made the best coffee he'd ever had.

He reached out to open the door to the shop, frowning as he had to pull harder than he anticipated, having grabbed the handle with his bad arm. His eyes swiveled to the left, rather than in front of him, focusing self consciously on his arm as it tried to pull open the damn door.

He finally got the door open, but he walked immediately into a brick wall.

He bumped into something hard, feeling disoriented, and he gasped in surprise, breathing in through his mouth and nose. His body immediately reacted, nose twitching, telling him to inhale again. Something smelled good.

Really good.

Bucky felt a tight grip on his right bicep as he stumbled backward and opened his eyes.

He looked up - and fuck, that was a bit of a trip because Bucky wasn't often looking up at other men- and it was the same gorgeous beefcake from Red Star last Friday. The attractive scent should've been a dead giveaway, but on Friday he'd just been sitting near the guy, not inhaling with his face literally pressed against the stranger’s shoulder.

His very strong, very broad shoulder.

Bucky inhaled once more. Fuck, he smelled good.

Bucky hadn't realized how much taller the guy was than him, but he easily had a good 4 to 5 inches on Bucky and it made every Omega instinct in him internally scream _YES!_. The guy just seemed so _big_ and it had Bucky's instincts singing. He loved beefy men.

Since he'd packed on muscle in his early twenties, there weren't very many times Bucky could remember actually feeling small, and it was a novel sensation.

Bucky hated being painted with a singular d-sig brush, but even he could admit that all things Omega within him were pointing at Beefy like he was a lit up marquee sign, with bulbs flashing wildly.

Sure, Bucky didn't believe that he had to listen to biological impulses, but the back of his mind was whispering to him that he was smaller than this big, solid Alpha; that this big Alpha could take care of him; that this Alpha was strong and virile and could _take_ him.

Fucking biology.

“Hey,” the beefcake’s voice was deep, and as contrite as it was appealing. “You alright? I'm so sorry.”

“Be-” he started and then immediately cut himself off, because that would've been embarrassing. He tried again, rounding the syllable out to something much more reasonable. “Baseball fan.”

Beefy’s big hand was still wrapped around Bucky's bicep, as the guy literally helped Bucky steady himself. Bucky was tempted to stumble backwards further, in an attempt to rub himself against the guy’s wrist just so that scent would stick with him for a moment.

Once Bucky's feet were planted firmly on the ground, Beefy slowly released him.

“Baseball fan,” the man repeated slowly, a smile building across his face. Beefy shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet before looking back up at Bucky. His smile got even brighter, nearly as bright as his sunshine colored hair, as he labeled Bucky, “Yankees fan.”

Bucky grinned in response, rocking back on his heels.

“You alright?” He asked again, and Bucky's nose wrinkled as the sweet Alpha smell was overtaken by one of concern.

Bucky wasn't sure how he felt about that; he wasn't helpless.

“Yeah,” he nodded, his expression leveling out into something more neutral. “I'm fine.”

“Okay,” the guy nodded once, decisively, and as soon as Bucky expression had changed, he took a step backwards, out of Bucky's personal space.

“Okay,” Bucky agreed because apparently he lost the ability to converse like a normal person.

“Well, I should…” Beefy trailed off as he gestured at the door that Bucky was standing directly in front of.

Bucky awkwardly shuffled to the side as the big Alpha walked past him and out the door.

Same as he did on Saturday, Bucky accidentally on purpose watched Beefy’s ass as he walked away.

He could do some fantastically horrible things to that ass.

As Bucky approached the counter and ordered his usual, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell just happened.

While waiting for his coffee, his cheeks burned bright red as he replayed the moment back in his mind. He'd been so startled when he walked into Beefy, because he'd been looking to the side rather than in front of him. He'd been so startled that he just now put together that with his head to the side, he no doubt managed to press the side of his neck against Beefy's shoulder.

Bucky blushed even harder as he imagined doing something as intimate as scent marking a total stranger; in the middle of a coffee shop, no less.

He raised a hand and poked at the scent glands on the right side of his neck, just below his ear. He flinched in response and frowned to himself as he felt the familiar irritation and sensitivity of having his glands unintentionally stimulated. Yeah, he’d definitely marked the guy.

Now there was some giant Alpha, who Bucky didn't even know, galavanting around New York and smelling of Bucky. That was embarrassing.

On the bright side, it made his lunch date seem slightly less disastrous in comparison, so at least that was something.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my Alpha Beta [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile).

Bucky exhaled as he curled his right arm towards his chest, the 40-pound dumbbell causing his muscles to complain in the most wonderful way.

He liked the strain, the satisfaction, and the sweat. He liked the way he felt during and after a good workout. He liked the way his body looked, far too bulky for an ideal Omega, but perfect for him.

He also liked the way the guy using the leg press in the corner was staring as Bucky curled the dumbbell up again. Hey, he was doing reps of 20, so now he had two reasons to keep going.

At least the gym was the one place he didn't embarrass himself. Well, usually. There was an incident with the front desk clerk two weeks ago but Bucky wasn't talking about that.

Natasha liked to tease him about his motivations for going to an Alpha gym. Bucky just responded that gyms that catered to Omegas didn't suit people with Bucky's strength. He'd loved cardio as much as the next guy, but he was trying to maintain his muscle mass and Omega gyms didn't provide that type of equipment. Plus, he'd always felt like a bit of an asshole because those gyms were always filled with women, and he assumed they were trying for a space without men. Bucky wasn't going to leer at them for reasons beyond having the same d-sig, but he still felt like a bit of an ass.

The plus side was, he liked the attention he got at his gym. Not everyone was an asshole, and he preened under the appreciative gaze Alphas would send his way, mostly men but some women too. Unlike Omegas, Alpha women didn't have any trouble gaining muscle mass; their bodies were literally made to be strong.

Looking up as he placed the dumbbell back on the rack, Bucky noticed a man over to his left tilt his head up and scent the air.

Okay, rude.

It was easy enough to tell his d-sig by scent, the dude didn't have to go sniffing around like Bucky was some object.

The stronger any person of any d-sig emoted, the stronger the scent, but sweating had the same effect. Bucky was aware that all the other dudes in the weight room were doing their squats and deadlifts and thinking that Bucky was the best smelling guy in the place.

It was very flattering. He was only human, and so help him, he liked getting smiled at.

It wasn't inherently sexual (though, he could admit, he liked when it was), seeing as most of the guys were probably straight.

Of course, there were the straight dudes who still slept with male Omegas since “all Omegas were made to take dick” but they were douchebags and Bucky was not wasting mental energy thinking about them.

He loved the attention though. Unlike Sniffs-A-Lot over there, most everyone had manners.

He made a fist with his left hand and squeezed, testing it out. He was smart enough to go easy on his left arm, but some days were better than others. He picked up a 20-pound dumbbell, but thought twice about it and swapped it for the 15; his arm would never get stronger if he ignored it entirely.

Settling comfortably onto a bench, he slowly curled his arm up, mentally counting the reps as he did.

He got to six when Sniffs-A-Lot approached him. The guy cocked an eyebrow and Bucky, and made no effort to hide his leer.

Apparently it was going to be one of those days. It was bad enough he didn’t pay attention when he'd packed his gym bag this morning, and was stuck with the dumb “Omega? Hardly Even Know ‘Ya” shirt Nat had given him for his last birthday.

Bucky liked being checked out as much as the next guy, but there was a way to do it that wasn't gross and that was not what was happening. It was obvious he wasn't just enjoying the novelty of Bucky's tshirt either.

“You know,” Sniffs started, a smarmy little smirk settling on his face, “it’s cute.”

Bucky lifted an eyebrow, not bothering to dignify that with a response.

“Seeing an Omega try to lift with the big boys.”

Bucky rolled his eyes; some people were just assholes. The guy was attractive enough, if not a living embodiment of a AlphaBro, and his body was as muscled as any other Alpha but nothing special.

Not that it mattered, but if the guy had bothered him five minutes ago, he would've seen that Bucky could easily keep up with the ‘big boys.’ Bucky was secure enough that he didn't try to overwork what little muscle he had in his left arm. It wasn't worth it. He didn't have to prove himself to this guy or any other asshole, be it Alpha or otherwise.

He continued curling his arm at an even pace as he dismissed the guy. “Not interested, buddy.”

He'd liked to say that he was surprised when, instead of walking away, the Alpha stood up straighter and puffed out his chest, but he wasn't. Of course the guy did.

Bucky managed to hold back a second eyeroll, but it was a near thing.

He really hated stereotypes himself, but it was typical Alpha behavior. He could practically hear the voice of those stupid, trashy dating shows in his head. _Get turned down? Do something that appeals to Omegas: show them how big you are; indicate how much you can protect and provide for them._ Like Omegas were all animals instead of fucking people. 

Yes, Bucky was attracted to big Alphas, as were most Omegas, but he wasn't attracted to assholes.

Well, not anymore, he reminded himself. He'd heard from Nat and Clint plenty that it seemed like ‘Asshole’ was his type. Lately, he was working to change all that.

“For the record,” Bucky drawled, not letting this guy interrupt his work out as he continued to mentally count his reps, “the best way to pick someone up isn't opening with an insult.”

“You-” the guy started with a pointed finger, looking annoyed. It seemed like he was going to say something else, and Bucky could just imagine what a well thought out reply it would be, but his eyes focused on something behind Bucky and he turned and walked away.

Bucky craned his neck to look behind him and grinned, surprised to see Pietro Maximoff walking towards him. His annoyance at the fact Sniffs-A-Lot left because another Alpha approached was one thing, but he let it go in favor of seeing his friend.

“Hey Bucky,” Pietro greeted him with a smile, a hand reaching out to squeeze Bucky's right shoulder.

Bucky stood up and placed the dumbbell on the rack before turning back around and smiling at the slender blond. “How's it goin’ man?”

“Good, good, just finished up a dozen miles on the treadmill,” Pietro responded, a smirk forming on his lips as he glanced down and noticed Bucky's shirt.

Bucky grumbled out before he could mention it, “Nat got it for me, don't ask.” At least it was better than those horrible yellow coveralls.

Pietro held back a laugh. He lifted an eyebrow and gave Bucky a playful leer, “Haven't seen you in a while; I don't even know how long it's been.”

“Oh fuck off,” Bucky responded, rolling his eyes fondly as Pietro laughed. “You know exactly when you last saw me.”

“Yeah,” he elbowed Bucky in the side playfully, “I guess I have a hard time remembering what you look like with clothes on.”

Pietro originally was a friend of a friend of a friend and Bucky and he had hit it off when they'd met at some barbecue. They became friends, and though not exactly Bucky's type romantically, the guy was nice and quick witted and Bucky enjoyed his company.

More specifically, Bucky enjoyed his company every four months over the last two years.

It was possible to get through a heat without a partner, or an Alpha, but it wasn't ideal. Bucky had managed by himself with just toys before, but he much prefered to have a partner. The all-consuming need to climax was exhausting when handled alone. With a partner, it could be pretty great, and with an Alpha, even better.

It was still the most draining three days of his life (literally and figuratively), every time it happened, but Pietro wasn't bad in the sack and they had had fun together.

It wasn't like he was the first Omega to enjoy heat sex.

He'd struggled after he and Brock broke up, knowing he was a week and a half away from his impending heat, the scent glands on the sides of his neck and near the femoral artery on his inner thighs already slightly swollen and tender to the touch. He'd been too pissed at Brock to actually be sad about the breakup, and the timing just made him even more angry.

He was already annoyed that he'd let Brock string him along like that rather than break it off himself, and the last thing he wanted to do was spend three days holed up in his apartment curled up on his bed, stomach cramping as his body ached with the impulse to breed or have a knot buried in his ass. It was fucking obnoxious is what it was.

Then he'd run into Pietro at the Red Star, and after a couple beers and plenty of complaining about his situation, he cocked an eyebrow and looked at his friend pointedly while adding a, “You wanna…?”

Pietro had finished his own beer, and was single at the time so he shrugged and answered with a “Why the hell not?”. 

A week later, Bucky had texted him and they'd been doing the same ever since. Pietro was a good guy and Bucky enjoyed the time they spent together, but they were just friends. Aside from the copious amounts of heat sex had every four months, everything between them was strictly platonic. That was saying something seeing as Bucky had drunkenly made out with most of his friends at some point.

“Since when do you work out in the morning?”

Bucky lifted a shoulder, “I got a thing after work tonight.”

“A thing?” Pietro’s curious expression rounded itself up with his lips curling upwards. “Not another blind date is it?”

“Why does everyone ask about my dating life?” He sounded like he was whining, but it seemed like a valid question.

“Because, my friend, we care about you,” Pietro reached out to squeeze his shoulder again. It seemed very comforting until the guy continued, “and it's a train wreck we can’t stop watching.”

“Asshole,” Bucky muttered but wasn't sure if Pietro could hear it over how hard he was laughing.

His friend gave him another smile, before glancing up at the clock and settling his laughter. “Sorry, man, as much as I'd like to hear all about it, I'm going to be late for work. I just had to stop in and say ‘hey’ when I saw you.”

His words caused Bucky to look back at the clock hanging on the opposite side of the weight room, and Bucky realized the same thing. 

“Yeah, yeah, get outta here. I'll see you later.”

Pietro shrugged and wiggled his eyebrows playfully, “You'll see me in two months for sure.”

Bucky huffed, fondly exasperated, “Get to work, Maximoff.”

Bucky figured he should do the same, and headed to the locker room to shower and change. 

By the time he'd showered, left, and made it to his garage, he'd only received three texts from his mother telling him that his younger sister might know some nice young men to set him up with.

Bucky groaned and stuffed his phone into his back pocket. His ma could wait, especially if she thought that Bucky needed his younger sister to set him up on pity dates. That was not happening, for a laundry list of reasons. One being that Bucky was 30 now and he did not want to be set up with anyone in their early-to-mid-20s. He was far too old for that.

He didn't have Snapchat, and he wasn't planning on getting it, so clearly those relationships would not work out.

“Hey Darcy,” he called out as he walked towards the small locker room in the back. Bucky was a firm believer in drawing a line between his work life and his personal life, for the sake of sanity among other reasons. To keep his place tidy and avoid dragging engine grease into his home, he used the locker room in the garage to change while working.

“Got a surprise for you, boss,” her voice carried over to him as he stepped into the locker room.

“Can't wait,” he replied as he shut and locked the door so he could change.

Since it was fairly warm out, he stripped off his jeans and replaced them with a pair of basketball shorts. He pulled off his tshirt too, leaving him in just his undershirt before pulling on a pair of coveralls, automatically frowning as he reached for the light pink pair on top. Stupid colored coveralls.

He looked in his reflection in the mirror, tightening the short ponytail at the nape of his neck, before heading back out to the front.

“What's up, Darce?” He leaned on the counter between him and his perky receptionist, giving her a smile.

“You tell me,” she answered with a smirk, her head tilting to the side and her eyes looking around him.

Bucky followed the movement, turning to look behind him, and his heart honest to god skipped a beat. His breath caught in his throat.

That was the most beautiful vintage Harley he'd ever seen.

“Bucky -”

“Shhh, shhhhh,” he hummed, waving Darcy off as he stepped over to the motorcycle, his hand gently resting on the seat, “She's speaking to me.”

“Yeah, okay,” and he heard the eyeroll in Darcy's voice before she continued, “the owner dropped it-”

“Her,” Bucky corrected.

Darcy huffed but continued. “The owner dropped _her_ off, and I had him fill out all the paperwork. I told him you'd be back within the hour, so he said he'd get coffee and come back. That was about 45 minutes ago.”

“Uh huh,” he was barely listening, instead trailing his fingers first along the saddle and then along the handlebars. “Daddy’s gonna take such good care of you.” He heard Darcy snort in response to his whispering, but he ignored it.

The was a jingle from the bell above the front door as it opened, but Bucky was too busy thinking of sweet things to murmur at the bike to look up. 

“Welcome back,” Darcy chirped.

“Thanks, hello again,” a deep voice began and Bucky immediately liked the sound.

Bucky inhaled, unable to avoid scenting the air, and fuck, the garage suddenly smelled like something other than grease. The sweet Alpha scent had him turning around.

His eyes widened in surprise. At this point, he'd recognize those broad shoulders, honey wheat colored hair, pink lips, and obscene biceps anywhere he went. This was the third time in a week.

“Baseball fan,” Bucky blurted out as soon as he'd turned, voice sounding obviously delighted.

Beefy’s eyes snapped up to Bucky's face, and Bucky felt warm with satisfaction at the fact that the guy had been checking him out.

“Yankees fan,” Beefy answered, a slow smile growing and overtaking his face.

“Pssshhh,” Darcy made a noise but Bucky didn't even look her way, seeing as those big blue eyes were focused on him.

“Steve Rogers,” Beefy had a name and he announced it clearly, taking a step towards Bucky, his hand stretched out in front of him.

“Bucky Barnes,” Bucky replied, feeling full on butterflies in his stomach in response to the firm, calloused grip of the hand shake.

“You're the Barnes in JB Barnes Auto?” Steve sounded curious.

Despite the pleased little upturn at the end of Steve's lips, Bucky immediately scowled. Steve sounded curious but Bucky could easily see the surprise on his Steve's too. Bucky sighed, feeling disappointed that he'd misjudged the situation. Bucky had just been blinded by the big muscles, the tempting scent, and that one chivalrous move. 

Though, in his defense, those biceps were highly distracting.

“Yeah,” He answered, sounding frosty, and narrowed his eyes before continuing, “and if you have a problem with an Omega-owned business -”

“Oh no, no,” Steve, flustered, held up his hands in front of him, waving them awkwardly, “not at all. I just - it's just -”

“It's just what?” He questioned back, still wary.

“It's just…” Steve's cheeks flamed bright red which have Bucky a small sense of vindication as he fumbled through his words. Steve looked down at his feet before glancing back up, “I just was wondering if I'd run into you again.”

“Oh.” Bucky paused. That was unexpected. The frustration left him as quickly as it came, and he felt the butterflies kick up in his stomach again.

Steve gave a sheepish shrug and gave Bucky a tiny smile while his shoulders were all bunched up.

_Oh_. This just got interesting.

Bucky tried to fight down his own blush as the big Alpha in front of him rocked back on his feet.

“I uh,” Steve continued, “just moved back to the area.”

That explained why Bucky seemed to run into the guy every few days. Steve had seemed so smooth when Bucky saw him at the bar. This version of the Alpha was far from it.

“And,” he stammered, “you liked the Yankees and The Coffee Bean.”

Everyone liked The Coffee Bean. That place was unbeatable.

“Or you at least go to The Coffee Bean ‘cause I saw you there.”

“Oh good lord,” Darcy muttered, no doubt watching this as interestedly as Bucky was.

Bucky didn't have to smell the guy’s nervousness to know he was flustered as hell. It was kind of endearing.

It also made Bucky feel better. Clearly, he no longer felt like snapping at the guy, but seeing Steve slightly awkward when he initially seemed so smooth? It gave Bucky confidence.

He almost smiled, life was so much better when you weren't on the bumbling side for once.

Alphas had a tendency to think they were metaphorically bigger than everyone else; Steve here was literally bigger, but just acting like a normal guy.

Bucky pulled himself together, or tried to, because this seemed like too good of an opportunity to let pass him by. He'd had a lot of shit dates lately, and it just so happens that the hottest guy he's even seen, with the hottest bike he's ever seen, just shows up at his garage?

Well, maybe it was Bucky's lucky day (which he'd been seriously due after all the unlucky ones he'd been having).

“So,” He sounded more confident than he felt, but he went with it and gave Steve his most charming Barnes smile, “you decided to bring your bike to my garage to see me?”

“What? No. Yes,” Steve was flustered again, his cheeks darkening, “I found you on Yelp - Well, found your business on Yelp.”

Thank goodness for good reviews.

“I didn't know that you,” Steve gestured awkwardly to Bucky, “would be you.”

Bucky wasn't sure where to go with that one, so he just smiled. He needed time to process this. “Alright, Steve Rogers, baseball fan, who just moved to town, why don't you tell me about your bike, then?”

Steve's posture immediately relaxed and he nodded. “Something's not running right. I think it's the transmission?” He shrugged. “But that is about the extent of my motorcycle knowledge.”

Bucky nodded as he listened. He liked the fact that Steve had no trouble admitting when he didn't know something. That was a quality Bucky wished more Alphas had.

“You think you can help?” Bucky didn't begrudge the concern in Steve's voice; if that was Bucky's Harley, he'd feel the exact same way.

“Sure,” Bucky turned to look at the large wipe off calendar hanging near the counter. The three cars he was currently working on were listed out in Darcy's neat handwriting, including when they were meant to be finished and picked up.

“Today is Wednesday,” he hummed as he considered it. If it were just the transmission, it wouldn't be a problem and he figured he would fit it in between a few other things. “How about you pick her up end of the day on Friday?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded quickly, “yeah, that'd be fine, thanks.”

“Darcy’ll have the paperwork for you to sign off on.”

“Already done, boss,” She called from her side of the office, “I told you that.”

“Oh,” Right. Darcy did tell him just a few moments ago. Well, that was marginally embarrassing. “Then I have all I'll need from you.”

“Okay,” Steve nodded again, a smile playing on his lips. The whole place was starting to smell like happy Alpha, and if the bike hadn't been so beautiful, Bucky would've thought that it was excessive. His nose wrinkled, but he understood, he figured he would've been equally as happy to get his bike fixed, if he had one like that.

Bucky figured it would've been weird to enjoy the scent of all that happiness, so he avoided wrinkling his nose any more and breathing it in deep. It wasn't easy though.

The lizard part of his brain reminded him again how _big_ Steve was, and how those thick arms and thick thighs were probably even stronger than the looked.

Steve held his hand out in front of him once more, and Bucky reached for it. He grasped Steve's hand in his, shaking firmly, and enjoying the feeling of it. 

Steve's hand feeling so big around his own had all of Bucky's Omega instincts lighting up. He wanted to press his whole body against Steve's just so he could feel small. 

Pull it together, Barnes. “Thanks, Bucky Barnes,” Steve added in that deep voice as he let Bucky's hand go. 

Bucky watched as Steve turned and walked out of the garage, the bell over the door jingling happily. 

“Damn,” Darcy let out a low whistle, “Blondie smelled good.” 

“Yeah,” Bucky nodded, feeling surprisingly breathless, “tell me about it.”


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile) who has Alpha level Betaing skills.

Friday was the best day of the week for many reasons, the main one being that  _this_ week was almost over. It had been one disaster after another. He hadn’t been lying to Pietro when he said he had a thing after work on Wednesday. It wasn’t a blind date per se; he’d given his number to a cute guy he’d been in line behind at the grocery store and they’d made plans to meet up for dinner. 

Well, the guy hadn’t even showed up. Worse than getting stood up was that now Bucky’d probably have to find a new grocery store because what if he ran into the guy again? He couldn’t risk it.

If there wasn’t a Trader Joe’s a few blocks over from his place, he’d probably have to move.

Luckily, it wasn’t all bad. A certain Alpha had showed up in his garage midday Wednesday and hadn’t left his thoughts since.

Two days ago, Bucky had needed time to process things, and now he's had time, he’s come to a few conclusions.

The first being that Steve’s Harley was a work of art and Steve had been right to bring it to Bucky so Bucky could give it all the loving attention it so rightfully deserved. 

The issue with the bike ended up being a little more complicated that he'd initially assumed, but Bucky was an artist so he'd had no problems getting the repairs done by Friday.

His other conclusion was that, after such a horrible string of unlucky dates, he was due for a good one.

Hopefully in the form of one brickhouse of a blond.

Steve was attractive, anyone could see that. Moreso, any Omega could definitely see that; all those big, bulging muscles lit up Bucky's Omega instincts like the fucking Bat Signal.

Steve was exactly the type of man that Bucky was physically attracted to. The fact that he handled that obnoxious Alpha in the Red Star without starting a fight or demanding expectations from the Omega he'd helped out, made Steve noticeably attractive for reasons other than his appearance.

Bucky's new goal was to date guys that weren't assholes, and Steve seemed to fit the bill.

And, even if he was an asshole, he smelled so good that Bucky was fairly certain his scent could make up for that. (But he wasn't going to mention that to Natasha.)

(Plus, the bike. But he'd already mentioned that.) 

The thing is, Bucky was fairly certain Steve was at least marginally interested in him. Alpha men could be put off by Bucky's bulky size but the Alpha had clearly been checking Bucky out when he'd entered the garage.

More importantly, Bucky knew he'd scent marked Steve when they literally ran into each other at the Coffee Bean. Steve had every right to be annoyed by that, and if Steve had a partner, that partner would no doubt be upset about their man coming home smelling of fresh Omega.

But rather than any feelings of malcontent, when Steve recognized Bucky in the garage, Steve had smiled, blushed, and even got a little flustered.

Bucky didn't know for sure, but if the guy’s blush had been any indication, perhaps the flustered feelings came from the fact that Bucky had essentially shared something intimate with a stranger?

Which is why Bucky had a plan.

He’d dismissed Darcy a couple hours early since Friday afternoons were slow when it came to foot traffic, and quickly showered and changed. If he normally worked on the books in his shop uniform, and this time instead swapped them for a pair of tight jeans and a red sweater that hugged his biceps, no one needed to know.

He glanced at the clock to see that it was nearly 4:30 and settled more comfortably in the chair at Darcy’s reception desk while scrolling through numbers on his tablet. He was doing better than usual for the month, and the thought made him wonder if he should shell out a few extra dollars for more blue coveralls.

Before he could make a decision, the door opened and the Alpha currently inhabiting his thoughts stepped easily into the garage.

Bucky may have had a few dating disasters recently, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t know how to play the game.

“Bucky Barnes,” Steve approached the desk with a little smile on his face. Steve may have been subtle, but Bucky could still notice Steve’s eyes dragging down Bucky’s shoulders and chest.

“My newest customer,” Bucky’s answering smile grew across his face as he stepped around the desk.

Bucky walked over to where Steve’s bike was waiting, Steve easily following.

“How is she?”

 See? Bucky told Darcy the bike was a she.

“You did the right thing, bringing her in,” Bucky turned so he was facing Steve, a smirk playing on his lips, and patted the bike’s saddle twice. “She’s fine now, I took good care of her.”

“I bet you did,” Steve responded, and despite the fact Bucky was relatively sure that no innuendo was intended, a light blush graced Steve’s cheeks and it was pretty cute.

“She should be back to running normally. We can settle up now, but if you have any trouble, you let me know and I’ll take a look, yeah?”

The blush was still present on Steve’s face as he nodded and looked back to Bucky. “Yeah - yeah, I can do that.”

Having stuffed the keys in his pocket when he stepped away from the desk, he pulled them out and passed them to Steve.

“I can’t thank you enough, really.”

Bucky walked back over to the desk, Steve following, to settle the bill. Steve smiled cheerfully as he passed over his credit card and signed the paperwork Bucky placed in front of him.

Bucky took a deep breath to calm his nerves and did his best to remind himself of the plan he’d already thought up.

“If you really wanted to thank me,” Bucky balled his hands into his front pockets so that he wouldn’t nervously run them through his hair.

Steve perked up, and looked away from the paperwork and quickly up to Bucky. That was a good sign, and encouraged Bucky to push forward.

“You could buy me a beer?” Bucky leaned back on his heels and arched an eyebrow lightly, trying to be the epitome of nonchalant. Really, you couldn’t blame him for trying to play it cool.

The worst that could happen would be Steve turning him down, and really, that wasn’t that bad. He could handle rejection. He’s had to do it plenty of times before.

Despite the fact that Bucky thought his interest was really fuckin’ obvious, surprise splashed over Steve’s face and a pleased smile pulled across those pink lips.

“Yeah,” Steve’s cheeks warmed with a soft, rosy color as he smiled and nodded, “I’d like that.”

Bucky was sure that he was scenting happy Alpha, just as much as Steve had to be scenting happy Omega, but he was okay with it. As far as romantic interactions went, this was far better than his previous one and they were only two minutes into it.

Though, really, there was plenty of time for him to put his foot in his mouth.

Bucky realized that they’d been smiling at each other in silence for about thirty seconds, and he was pretty sure that was about to hit the line of awkward silence, and he was just not emotionally equipped for another awkward moment.

“Uh,” Bucky began not-so-smoothly, but then figured he could totally redeem himself. He gave Steve his most charming smile, and then did end up running his fingers through his hair. “What’re ya doing right now?”

Steve beamed and the warm scent of happiness was even more obvious. “Nothing that I can think of.”

“Good,” Bucky found himself instinctually smiling back, the Omega part of his brain lighting up for having pleased the big, hunky Alpha in front of him.

He grabbed his leather jacket from the peg on the wall and dug through papers on the counter until he found his keys.

“I need to lock up,” he continued as Steve watched him curiously, “and you need to test out your bike, so how about we meet at Red Star in 25 minutes?”

“Alright,” Steve agreed with a nod of his head, “I can do that.”

“Okay,” Bucky responded and stepped back so they wouldn’t get stuck in another almost-awkward too-long smiling moment.

Steve gave his head a quick shake, but he was still smiling as he stepped over to his bike, looking over his shoulder at Bucky, while he hit the switch to open the garage door. 

Bucky got a tiny bit distracted as he watched Steve mount his bike, but pushed the thought from his head. There’d be plenty of time for that later, hopefully.

Right now, he had to close up shop because he had a hot date. 

(A hot date with a male Alpha, no less. His two favorite qualities in a potential partner!)

Since he’d already dressed the part and tied back his hair before Steve showed up, he didn’t have to lose time worrying about his appearance.

He dropped Steve’s paperwork into the inbox on Darcy’s desk for her to file on Monday morning, plugged in his tablet, and then spent five minutes grumbling angrily as he attempted to reach his favorite dry erase marker, which had apparently rolled under his workbench. 

When he finally retrieved the marker, he updated the big board on the side of the garage, removing Steve from the list, and updating the queue to prepare himself for Monday morning.

He stepped back and tossed the marker towards its bin, cursed loudly when he missed wildly, and watched with a glare as it rolled back under his work bench. 

Whatever.

Bucky rolled his eyes and decided that it could wait for next week.

He quickly turned off the lights and locked the additional doors, before arming the security system and locking the front entrance behind him.

It took him ten minutes to walk the short distance to the bar, and rather than get nervous about his impromptu date with Steve, he just reminded himself that it literally could not go worse than his blind date with Mel the other day.

Surprisingly, reviewing the train wreck of his previous bad dates in his head was oddly comforting. It could be much, much worse. Steve was the right gender, he was hot as hell, and he already had Bucky’s Omega instincts buzzing.

At the very last, he seemed like a nice guy, and a Yankees fan, so Bucky was pretty sure he could get a new friend out of the whole thing.

And if Steve wanted to fuck him? Well, he already had enough friends.

As Bucky rounded the corner to see the bar, Steve looked like a movie star, leaning against his Harley in a dark leather jacket, not dissimilar to Bucky’s own.

Bucky couldn’t look away from Steve. Despite the fact that the smile on his face was open and friendly, Bucky was now entirely sure that he didn’t need any new friends.

“She runs like a dream,” Steve complimented as Bucky stepped up next to him, “you do great work.”

“Told you I took care of her.” It was easy to banter back, Steve’s tone was light and playful and Bucky didn’t miss the way Steve had perked up when he approached.

Steve pushed off from where he was leaning against his bike and fell into step with Bucky.

As they got closer to the bar, the door opened and a familiar brunet stepped out, catching him by surprise. 

“Bucky! Hi; how are you?”

“Uh, hey Scott,” he supplied awkwardly, uncomfortably rocking back on his feet as he glanced at Steve, worried about his reaction.

“It’s good to see you,” Scott added, with a friendly smile and Bucky nodded in return.

“You too.”

Well, Bucky should’ve expected this at least. It’s not like any of his other dates went smoothly. 

Scott looking over at Steve was obvious, and Bucky paused.

“Sorry, uh… Scott, this is Steve Rogers; Steve, Scott Summers.”

The two men nodded at each other and Bucky held back a grimace. Two Alphas sizing each other up was never a good idea and he felt tension pull across his shoulders.

“I’ve got to go,” Scott took a step away, “but it really was good to see you, Bucky. Call me if you want to get together sometime?”

“Uh,” Bucky hesitated, and subtly glanced at Steve, “okay, alright.”

Scott seemed satisfied and gave a nod and a smile before he headed off in the opposite direction, and Bucky watched him go simply to avoid looking back at Steve.

He had to eventually though, and turned to Steve with a grimace.

Surprisingly, there was nothing but polite curiosity on Steve’s face.

“Friend of yours?” The tone of voice Steve used was easy as well, no hidden animosity or hints of anger.

“Uh, kind of?” He questioned more than stated, feeling relieved.

It’s not that he thought Steve was a jerk or anything like that, but he’d seen big Alphas antagonize each other for less than an unmated Omega.

Luckily, Steve continuously proved himself a non-asshole (Bucky’s New type, he reminded himself), and Scott hadn’t been a jerk last week either.

Still though: awkward.

“He and I went out once,” Bucky explained with a shrug, ready to move past that moment and get the beer he was promised. “My friend set us up; he’s a nice guy, just not really my type.”

“Huh,” Steve commented in response, clearly thinking through something as his brow furrowed.

Bucky wasn’t sure what was going through Steve’s mind, but it was obvious that Steve was considering something.

“The way he looked at you,” Steve began in a low voice with attention completely on Bucky.

“What does that mean?” The last thing Bucky wanted to do was ruin what had seemed like such a promising date, but he couldn’t help but sound a little defensive. He didn’t know what Steve meant by that, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

He took a deep breath before continuing, “Well, I can certainly see why.”

Bucky’s stomach promptly flipped upside down. That was unexpected. Their light banter had been one thing, but that was the first time Steve had said something so blatantly forward, and it had Bucky’s cheeks blushing.

Bucky tried to formulate a response, but Steve obviously didn’t notice, because he was holding the front door of the Red Star open and back to smiling genuinely at Bucky.

“Thanks,” Bucky muttered as he walked in, looking away so Steve wouldn’t see how much his cheeks had warmed.

Bucky waved at Gamora when he walked in, and Steve followed as he sat down in a booth not far from the door.

A server quickly approached the table and Steve was smiling as Bucky requested the Goose Island on tap and he followed suit.

“So,” Steve cleared his throat but the smile never left his face, “What is your type?”

“Huh?”

“If that guy wasn’t your type, then what is?”

“Uh,” Bucky paused and then sat up straighter. He gave Steve his smoothest smile, pursing his lips slightly. This was his chance to charm the pants off Steve (literally if he was lucky).

Aside from running into Scott; everything else was going according to plan. He got this big, sexy, sweet Alpha to take him out for a drink, and this was his chance to make a move. Forget Scott and other awkward dates; this was Bucky’s comeback round.

He lifted his shoulder in what he hoped was a flirty way as two pint glasses were placed on the table. 

“I like men,” He started with a smirk, making sure it was obvious that he was looking Steve over, “I like Alphas, and I like blonds with vintage motorcycles.”

Steve looked exceedingly pleased, if not bashful as he glanced down before looking up again, covering the warmth of his cheeks with a long pull of beer.

“Lucky for me then,” he answered quietly, but with a thoughtful smile.

Bucky took a drink of his own, the openness of Steve’s expression surprisingly attractive. He knew he was being pretty heavy-handed with his flirting, but it was hard not to. Not only was he interested in getting to know Steve as a person, his body was quite interested in getting to know Steve in a carnal way. Looking over at such a big, strong Alpha had Bucky thinking of all kinds of compromising positions they could get themselves into.

Bucky’s particular attraction to Alphas couldn’t have surprised Steve, clearly hardwired into his d-sig, but he figured it was worth mentioning if it made Steve seemed so pleased about it. 

“So Bucky Barnes,” Steve’s voice was deep and confident with an edge of sweetness; Bucky enjoyed the sound, “tell me about you.”

“Okay,” He gave a cheeky grin, “Mechanic, Omega, baseball fan, coffee lover.”

“Those are the few things I already know. How about something I don’t?”

Steve was smooth, and Bucky didn’t hate it. It was surprisingly easy, to let Steve get to know him. It wasn’t awkward and it wasn’t weird and Bucky didn’t have to dance around what cousin’s uncle’s sister who set him up. That was a nice change.

“Okay,” he repeated, smiling easily. “Got a Beta kid sister, I like spy novels, strawberry milkshakes, and working out.”

“Yeah,” Steve breathed out quietly, latching on to the last part of Bucky’s statement and not bothering to hide the fact that his eyes were following the long line of Bucky’s shoulders. 

Bucky liked his appearance, and his d-sig aside, thought he looked pretty good, but it was always nice to be appreciated. He tried to sit up a little straighter under Steve’s gaze. 

It felt a little warm - mostly because of the way he was being looked at - so he took a long pull of cold beer. The only downside to it was his glass was draining quicker than he’d hoped.

Things were, surprisingly, going fairly well. 

“What about you, Steve Rogers?” Bucky leaned back in his seat. “Tell me about yourself.”

“I like working out too,” he started with a smile, clearly happy they had something in common.

“Obviously,” Bucky responded with a leer, making Steve blush, before Steve continued.

“I’m 32, Brooklyn born and raised, despite living in DC for the last two years. I have an affinity for vintage things, have a love/hate relationship with the Yankees, and currently work for a non-profit group.”

“Vintage things? Like motorcycles, perhaps?”

Steve grinned in response, “That would be part of it, yeah.” 

Bucky felt so comfortable that it was almost unexpected. He’d be the first to admit that his dating history lately was nothing to write home about. This wasn’t what he expected, certainly not what he’d thought when he saw Steve sitting on a barstool near him that other night, but he was quite happy about the turn of events.

This was easy. Steve was kind and open, didn’t pull any kind of macho Alpha bullshit, and he was, Bucky was sure, the hottest man he’d ever gone out with.

Steve made a comment about the upcoming lineup for the Yankees and Bucky easily got pulled in, occasionally agreeing with Steve and loudly, vehemently disagreeing with him more often than not. 

Sure, Bucky was here to flirt, but he was not going to let Steve disrespect his favorite pitcher like that, and the comment needed to be rectified.

Come to think of it, arguing about baseball may have been what all Bucky’s other first dates had been lacking. 

It was only after Steve chuckled and finally conceded to Bucky’s point, with a rueful shake of his head, that Bucky realized how late it had gotten and how much of their evening they’d spent conversing about baseball.

Their pint glasses had long since been emptied and Bucky leaned back and slouched down, feeling relaxed, in his side of the booth. It’d been the most fun he’d had while grabbing a drink in a long time.

Steve seemed to notice the timing in tandem with Bucky and the corner of his lips curved upwards into a tiny, little smile.

“Can I walk you home?”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed on a exhale, voice betraying his surprise as his chest warmed with how much that idea appealed to him. “I’d like that.”


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile) might be a Beta, but she's an Alpha in my eyes :-D.

Bucky rounded the corner to see the JB Barnes Auto sign hanging above his garage, with Steve at his side. He inclined his head to the left, and Steve followed, walking around the side of the building, the yellow door that led to up Bucky’s apartment clearly visible. 

If Steve was surprised that Bucky’s home existed over his workplace, the Alpha didn’t show it. 

Bucky found Steve smiling at him, looking down at his shoes before looking back up. 

“I had a really good time tonight, Bucky,” a light blush warmed the apples of Steve's cheeks. 

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed honestly, enjoying the way Steve seemed so focused on him. “It was pretty good.” And he had yet to embarrass himself completely, which was really working out for him. 

Bucky gave Steve an easy smile, his eyes glancing down at Steve's lips which were hard to ignore.

Harder to ignore was the strong scent of happy Alpha surrounding them. Bucky wasn't even trying to scent Steve, but it was impossible not too. He was practically shouting his happiness, projecting a scent that strongly.

Honestly though, Bucky didn't mind. In his rational mind, he was pleased that Steve appeared to enjoy their date as much as Bucky did.

Emotionally, the Omega side of his brain was telling him to jump for joy, reminding him that he pleased his Alpha.

Steve wasn't actually his Alpha, of course, which Bucky reminded himself at the same time he reminded himself that he wasn't ruled by biology.

Still though, those lips looked really good.

And the last time he'd kissed anyone had been that disastrous date over a week ago, so it was about time for him to move on from that.

Steve looked curious, but Bucky encouraged him with a small smile and Steve took a step closer. There was still half a foot between the two, but six inches of space did little to make Bucky feel like he wasn't surrounded by Steve.

Keeping his hands at his sides, Steve leaned in, clearly reading Bucky's body language and pleased scent, and Bucky hoped that Steve wanted this as much as he did.

Steve was only a couple inches away from Bucky when he stopped. Steve's focus was on Bucky's lips this time, but he glanced upwards and made eye contact with Bucky, clearly asking for permission.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't like that. Bucky thought it was obvious that he was angling for some kind of physical contact, but it was always nice to be asked.

He gave consent in form of a tiny nod, and Steve smiled brightly - shit, at this rate that happy Alpha smell was going to stick to Bucky for days, it was so strong - before closing the short distance between their mouths and bringing their lips together.

Steve's lips were soft and he pressed them against Bucky's lightly before putting a bit more pressure behind it, once Bucky reached down and laced the fingers of his right hand with Steve's own.

Steve started to pull away, lips departing with a fleeting sense of warmth and Bucky could practically feel butterflies flutter in his stomach.

Holding Steve's hand loosely, it was easy to stretch his thumb out and brush it across the scent gland on the inside of Steve's wrist.

Steve's eyes widened in shock, and maybe -hopefully?- something else as his gaze laser focused on Bucky.

It was a bold move. Hell, Bucky knew it was a bold move, but he couldn't quite stop himself. Sure, Bucky was progressive as the next guy, and but an Omega making that kind of move on an Alpha, on a first date, no less? It was pretty forward. 

Maybe he had just embarrassed himself again. And things had been going so well.

The corner of Steve's mouth quirked up in an amused smile before he leaned forward for another kiss, Bucky eagerly meeting him.

The first kiss had ended so quickly that Bucky kissed back slower this time, hoping it would never stop.

There was something almost sweet about it, being closed mouthed and languid, but it still made Bucky feel like he was on fire. His heart skipped in his chest, and the part of his brain that he was trying his best not to think with right now was chanting _Happy Alpha! Big Alpha! Strong Alpha!_  repeatedly, which wasn't helpful at all.

It was almost too much.

Steve pulled back, and tilted his head down to rest their foreheads together, which once again reminded Bucky that Steve was bigger than he was.

Shit.

Bucky was breathing heavily and was going to ask for another kiss before Steve squeezed their joined hands once.

“Bucky,” Steve's voice was a low rumble and nearly intoxicating. He raised his free hand, his fingertips hovering near the side of Bucky's neck, and Bucky’s heart rate sped up even faster. “Can I…?”

Steve's words trailed off, nearly dying on the lips that Bucky was aching to kiss again. Steve may not have been able to finish his thought, but the indication was clear.

Bucky bit down on his bottom lip, and struggled to respond. He wanted to shout “YES!” but his pulse was racing and his tongue couldn't seem to form the word. All he could do was nod.

Steve nodded once decisively in response and then Bucky felt the heavy weight of Steve's palm on the back of his neck.

Bucky whimpered, sounding far more needy than he would've ever anticipated, which could've been embarrassing if he wasn't turned on too much to care.

“Shhh, little Omega,” Steve shushed him quietly, words barely more than a whisper, “I got you.”

If you had asked Bucky yesterday or the day before or literally any other minute besides this one, Bucky would vehemently respond that he loathed to be called by his d-sig.

He really hated it, seeing as he was so much more than an Omega, and he tended to take offense when it felt like anyone was reducing him to just his designation.

Now though? 

Well, Bucky felt his knees fucking go weak. He could barely wrap his mind around it, but it had to be twofold. Firstly, Steve's tone was low and sexy and he whispered out ‘Omega’ like he was whispering a lover’s name.

Steve said ‘Omega’ like a compliment; like it was something special, and that said as much about Steve's character as it did Bucky's racing pulse. 

It wasn't rude and it wasn't snide, it was intimate and full of heat and sex and Bucky wanted to hear Steve say it again.

And again and again. 

He'd ended dates for less than that, but the way Steve said it didn't make it feel like he was calling Bucky an Omega because that's all he saw.

Steve was acting like he saw and liked all of Bucky. 

On top of that, Steve called Bucky little and it had every damn pleasure center in his brain and body lighting up like the fucking fourth of July.

Bucky was two hundred pounds, he'd never been called little in his life. 

Had it been anyone else, Bucky would've accused them of being patronizing but there was nothing but the utmost sincerity in Steve's voice. 

_Little_ Omega. Bucky was not little, but Steve was big and beefy and taller than Bucky, and maybe just maybe, he thought Bucky was small in comparison?

He never cared about that before, but he obviously did now because suddenly he wanted Steve to pet him and call him little Omega and feed him and what the fuck was happening?!

Two kisses and Bucky was losing it.

He was about to make a sarcastic comment about it, but his lips parted to do so and instead, he gasped loudly, his eyes closing as he tried to calm the racing of his heart.

Steve's palm was heavy on the back of Bucky's neck, but cupping it gently and Bucky enjoyed the feeling. 

His heart thumped painfully as Steve's thumb brushed gingerly against the side of his neck. 

Steve must've accepted Bucky's gasp as a reason to continue, because his thumb repeated the motion.

“Shhh,” Steve shushed him again, sweetly, and Bucky realized he must've been whining.

It took a minute or four, Bucky losing all sense of time as he held his eyes closed, awash in sensation, but Steve's hand moved from the back of Bucky's neck and two fingers were brushing against the side of his neck, tracing the edge of his scent glands.

Scent glands were sensitive no matter what your designation, but Omegas were arguably the most sensitive. It was why Bucky's glands had been irritated when he'd literally run into Steve at the Coffee Bean last week.

Unintentional stimulation was uncomfortable at best, but significantly irritating to the skin at the worst, which is why you didn't go around just rubbing your neck against everyone. 

But if stimulated right?

Bucky's whole body shuddered in response as Steve's fingers rubbed the side of Bucky's neck gently. Steve had started with such a light touch, increasing the pressure infinitesimally with his fingers, slowly working Bucky into a highly noticeable state of arousal. 

Bucky didn't know what experience Steve had had with Omegas in the past, but he was thankful for it. Steve obviously knew what he was doing and Bucky was happy to be on the receiving end of Steve's obvious talents.

So many guys he dated, Alphas in particular, would poke a little at his neck in a poor attempt of foreplay before trying to move straight to sex. 

This was nothing like that. 

This was intimate, even if it would have appeared relativity innocuous to anyone that saw them standing outside at the entrance to Bucky’s apartment. (Standing outside as if this wasn't the hottest moment of his life!) Steve was touching him like he had no idea Bucky wanted to drop to his knees right here. 

Bucky whimpered again, louder than he expected from himself, and he opened his eyes to see Steve smirk, and then rub small circles into the side of Bucky's neck. 

Bucky took a deep measured breath, holding back his natural instinct to whine once more in response to Steve’s fingertips trailing along his skin. Steve’s touch was a heady mix of delicate and confident and gentle, and it had all of Bucky’s Omega instincts singing.

Bucky’s felt a shudder race down his spine, and he realized that had he been in heat, with his scent glands swollen and achingly sensitive, Steve could very easy make him climax like this.

That thought did cause Bucky to bite his bottom lip in an attempt to stifle another tell-tale Omega whine. Steve was playing his body like a fucking violin and Bucky was all it for it. Whoever taught this big Alpha how to physically treat an Omega was clearly an idiot for letting Steve go.

“Steve,” Bucky breathed, voice heavy with want.

Steve half smiled in response, his tongue running along his bottom lip. His thumb rubbed one more circle into Bucky's neck before he moved his hand from Bucky's neck to Bucky's cheek.

Bucky fought a cry of disappointment. Logically, he knew that they obviously couldn't do anything more than that. They were standing outside in public for Pete's sake. Bucky dropping his pants and presenting in the sidewalk would probably get him arrested for public indecency.

Still, though, if that's how Steve touched Bucky's neck, Bucky was dying to know what it'd feel like to have Steve's big strong hands all over the rest of his body.

Cupping Bucky's cheek gently, Steve tilted Bucky’s head up and leaned in for one more kiss, his lips strong and confident against Bucky's own.

“Bucky,” Steve's breath was warm on Bucky's face as their bodies were still so close to each other, “you are something else.” 

Bucky inhaled a shaky breath, still wondering what he could do to make that hand travel the short distance from his cheek back to his neck. “You, uhh, you want to come up?” 

If Steve thought Bucky was the type of guy that didn't put out on the first date, then was was certainly mistaken. 

It was another bold move from Bucky. Sleeping together on the first date wasn't as big of a deal as asking an Alpha into his home on the first date. With scent glands on his wrists, most things Steve touched would smell like him; Steve's scent would linger for days. It would be far more acceptable for Bucky to have gone to Steve's place instead.

Not that Bucky cared. Steve smelled good and Bucky wouldn't mind that scent in his home, specifically on his pillow or sheets.

Sometimes he wondered why Omega secondary scent glands were on their inner thighs, and not on their wrists like Alphas. He'd just chalked it up to the long list of differences in their biology. (Though, he did figure it wouldn't be nearly as much fun to scent mark his partners using his wrists.)

Steve chuckled, the laugh sounding surprisingly light hearted despite the thick sexual tension between them. He kissed Bucky quickly on the side of the mouth, “It's hard to keep my hands off of you as it is, little Omega.” 

Bucky felt his heart thump at the pet name, and he wanted to point out to Steve that he, in fact, did not want Steve to do that. He wanted Steve's hands all over him.

“So I'd better not,” at least Bucky could hear a twinge of disappointment in Steve's voice. 

Steve kissed him again though, this time a soft little press to Bucky's cheek. “I would love to go out again, if you're interested.” 

Bucky nodded quickly, smiling wide, “I'm very interested.” 

Steve's bright smile made Bucky feel warm. He watched as Steve stepped back from him, seemingly unhappy to put so much distance between them. 

“Okay,” Steve was still smiling but gave his head a hard shake, which Bucky could understand. It was hard to think around the thick scent of arousal. He took another step backwards.

This was by far the best night Bucky had had in a long time. He felt more comfortable with Steve than he'd ever expected. 

Plus, well, if he was being honest, he wanted to get Steve naked and get his mouth on what had to be a big Alpha dick. (Hey, one could hope). 

“I'm free tomorrow,” Bucky added, optimistic, as Steve took another step away from him.

“Tomorrow, then,” Steve sounded happy as he turned onto the sidewalk to finally walk away. “Have a good night, Bucky.” 

Bucky grinned and, feeling confident, blew a kiss at Steve in response, giddy when Steve's cheeks flushed bright. 

Bucky watched Steve walk away before turning to unlock the door and head up the stairs to his apartment. 

He couldn't wait to call Natasha and give her all the details, and maybe even text Darcy as well.

First though, Steve left his body feeling entirely too hot and he haphazardly stripped off his clothes, leaving a trail of them on the floor as he hurried to his bedroom. Throwing himself on his bed, Bucky wrapped his right hand around his hard dick, jerking roughly to quickly get off. In contrast to that touch, he lifted his left hand to his neck, trying to mimic Steve's gentle caress.

Thinking about Steve’s lips and Steve's fingers, it took almost no time at all for him to climax.

He came with a long draw out groan of “Alpha!”, and it wasn't until he was coming down the high of one the most intense orgasms he'd had in a while that he realized it.

At least, Bucky figured while trying not to roll his eyes at himself, it wasn't quite as bad if no one was around to hear it.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile) is the Alpha to my Omega, but also a fantastic Beta. Yes, I'm still committed to this pun. Hey - you readers chose a fic with a pun for a title; you should've known what you were getting into.

Bucky didn’t end up texting or calling Natasha, having been too busy enjoying the laziness only caused by a really good orgasm, but he figured it was fine.

He and his best friend had a long standing brunch date every Saturday morning at their favorite cafe, only three subway stops from Bucky’s place. Saturday Brunch was an institution ever since Bucky’s garage started making money and he could afford to treat himself once a week. 

Brunch dates were rarely cancelled; only happening if Bucky’s heat fell on a weekend. There had been a couple times he’d been too hazy with pre-heat that he’d been unable to drag himself out of the house so his bestie came to him and attempted pancakes, and one memorable time post-heat that Pietro had joined them, but otherwise it was just Bucky and Natasha.

(If Clint didn’t hate mornings so much, Bucky would be happy to include him as well.)

“Hey,” Bucky smiled lazily as he slid into their regular booth, Natasha already waiting for him with two mugs of coffee on the table.

“Hey, ‘Nat, my best friend of all time and greatest person I know’,” she corrected with a smirk on her face.

“Really? Before I’ve had my coffee?” It was too early for this.

She shrugged nonchalantly and waited patiently for Bucky to take a long pull from the mug in front of him. “I already ordered our usual.”

“Okay,” He slouched down, getting comfortable in his side of the booth, “let’s hear it. Why are you the best friend in the entire world?”

“Aside from the obvious?”

“Well, yeah,” he grinned, “of course.”

“I’ve figured out the answer to all your dating troubles,” Natasha said excitedly, smiling at him over her mug of coffee.

It seemed like a perfectly good opportunity to sneak in his news, which to be honest he was barely holding back as it was.

“Y’know, Nat,” he sounded just smug enough that curiosity quickly grew on Natasha’s face, “I might not need that help.”

“What?” Her palm slapped the table top and the silverware sitting atop it clattered loudly, her eyes wide with interest, “What are you not telling me, Barnes?”

“Remember that guy I mentioned? The blond?”

“The baseball fan Alpha with muscles for miles and an ass that won’t quit?” She smirked. “I may vaguely recall you mentioning him once and the way he smelled like three times.”

“Well,” and if he sounded smug a second ago, it was nothing over how smug he sounded now, “Alpha bought me a drink last night.”

“No!” She gasped.

“Yes!” He pumped a fist in the air, his left arm feeling surprisingly strong today.

“Bucky,” she sounded almost unconvinced, “you are the least smooth Omega I’ve ever known. How the hell did you manage that?”

He wanted to look offended but it was pointless; Nat had seen him put his foot in his mouth more than anyone else ever had.

He told her about Steve picking up his bike, and how he just fucking went for it. He told her about their drink together, purposely neglecting to mention Scott because that was no one’s business, and then finished up by telling her how Steve walked him home, topping off the night with kissing and stimulating his scent glands.

“Wow.” She blinked, eyes bright, taking a long drink of coffee. “Bucky, I’m impressed.”

“I know!” He agreed excitedly and paused conversation as two identical _Hungry Alpha Scramblers_ were placed on the table in front of them. “Can you believe it?!”

“I mean, I almost can’t,” she laughed as Bucky pulled a face, “But I love everything about it.”

“You think I should be worried he didn’t want to come up?”

“Nah, I wouldn’t be.” She thought about it, “Just because you are, doesn’t mean everyone is comfortable getting physical on the first date.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Plus, maybe he’s traditional? Lots of Alphas won’t enter an Omega’s personal space without getting to know them first.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he nearly rolled his eyes, “obviously that doesn’t bother me.”

“Might bother him though,” she pointed out, waving her fork in his direction, before taking a large bite of scrambled eggs.

“Hmmm,” he responded noncommittally before helping himself to his own breakfast.

“So,” he instantly recognized her full attention being given to him, “you’re really interested in him?”

“Well yeah,” Bucky started before he paused to actually think through it. “Clearly, I don’t know him that well, but I genuinely liked spending time with the guy. As far as first dates go, it’s the best one I’ve had in weeks and it seemed like we connected. I’d like to get to know him better.”

“...And?” She offered, giving Bucky a knowing smirk.

“And he’s hot as hell and I want that Alpha knot.”

Natasha nearly slapped the table again as she laughed loudly, delighted in what should’ve have been, in Bucky’s opinion, an unsurprising response.

“Well,” as her laughter quieted down and she cleared her throat, Natasha sat up straighter in her side of the booth, “it was only a first date.”

“It was…” he replied, hesitatingly, not sure what she was insinuating.

“Which means, it’s always good to have a back up plan.”

“Let me stop you right there,” Bucky held up a hand, “I know I’ve said it before, but I’m serious. No more blind dates. I can’t with those anymore.”

“Yeah, I remember.” She pursed her lips. “It’s not a blind date.”

Bucky gave her a flat look, unconvinced.

“I signed you up for speed dating tonight.”

“Oh hell no.” That was not happening - speed dating was like blind dating on steroids and it was already bad enough as it was.

“Hear me out,” She began.

“Nope,” he shook his head, “Nat, don’t even finish that statement.”

“Hey, c’mon,” Natasha cajoled, “last week you were going on and on about finding Mr. Right. I’m just helping you stack the deck.”

That was true, and as a best friend, it was Natasha’s duty to suffer emotionally in tandem with Bucky’s bad dates. She probably wanted him to find the right guy as much as he did.

“It’s Alpha/Omega pairings and men only - your two favorite things! When else could you meet 20 potential Mr. Rights at once?! It’s way more efficient than your one hour lunch date plans. This way you can cross off 20 guys in an hour instead of just one.”

Bucky looked over to see her grinning at him, and despite what a horrible idea it was, he smiled back. He appreciated the fact that Natasha was trying to hard to help him meet the right guy. She was a good friend.

“Just because you fell in love with a mess of a Beta as soon as you met him doesn’t mean the rest of us get off so easy. Some of us are stuck searching for Mr. Alpha right.” He softened his words with a smile so that his teasing was obvious.

Natasha rolled her eyes fondly and not so fondly kicked Bucky in the shin as she took another bite of eggs. “If you didn’t love Clint as much or possibly even more than I do, I may have been offended by that statement. Regardless, that’s another reason for you to streamline the dating process.”

Bucky snorted but took a huge bite of breakfast before he continued.

“Better than speed dating... I think I’m going to see Steve again tonight.”

“Oh, really?” She instantly seemed more interested than the arch of her eyebrow gave away, “Tell me more.”

“When he said goodbye last night, he said he’d like to see me again and I told him I was free tonight.”

“Not bad, Bucky,” she grinned, “Smooth and opportunistic!”

“Well,” he shrugged, trying to look self deprecating even though he felt smug as hell, “I have my moments.”

Before Natasha could respond, Bucky’s phone started buzzing on the table top. He glanced down and didn’t recognize the number, but that wasn’t uncommon as it was printed on his business cards and he often used it for work purposes.

“Unknown Number?” She questioned, looking over at the screen of his smartphone.

“Yeah,” he grabbed his phone, “but I’ve been waitin’ to hear about some parts for this Charger I’ve got. It’ll be just one second.”

He and Natasha never let personal calls interrupt their brunch, but it was understood that business occasionally could, seeing as Bucky prided himself on his work and being a small business owner wedged its way into his personal time fairly often.

“JB Barnes,” he answered crisply.

“You know,“ a smooth, familiar voice responded and Bucky’s heart skipped a beat, “sometime, you’re going to have to tell me what the J stands for.”

“Hi Steve,” He exhaled slowly, hoping to cover up the instant nerves that jumped in his stomach, while Natasha grinned widely and clearly leaned toward the phone to listen in. 

“Smooth,” Natasha mouthed silently with an over exaggerated wink, and Bucky noted that she made a good point. If he’d been that smooth last night, he shouldn’t let a little nervousness cramp his style now.

“Maybe,” he started, trying to sound playful, “I was planning to tell you on our second date.”

Steve chuckled at that and Bucky decided he loved the warm rumble.

“A guaranteed way to see me again?” Steve sounded confident and Bucky wasn’t sure if that sound went to his heart or his dick.

Seeing as they were probably connected, he guessed it didn’t matter. 

“You said it, not me,” He bantered back.

“Hey,” another chuckle, “you were the one who likes mysteries.”

Not that he doubted Steve, but confirmation that the guy had been actively listening to their conversation last night was kind of great.

“So,” Go big or go home, Barnes. “About that second date…”

“Actually, that’s what I’m calling about,” Steve sounded contrite, “Unfortunately, I’m being called away last minute for work and I’ll be out of town for the next few days. I’d love to take a rain check and see you next weekend?”

Bucky steadily ignored the feeling of his heart falling to his feet. His face twisted and Natasha reached over and smacked him on the shoulder when his hesitation neared the level of awkward silence.

“Next weekend?” He swallowed the disappointment, “I could do next weekend.”

“Great,” Steve suddenly sounded cheerful, “I’ll see you next Saturday, then?”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, trying not to sound conflicted, “I’ll see you then.”

As he ended the call he looked up to see Natasha staring him down, eyebrows raised skeptically.

“What?”

Bucky shrugged, “You think he’s blowing me off?”

“Bucky,” Nat rolled her eyes, “stop being so dramatic. If that was the case, he wouldn’t be calling you to flirt with you and reschedule.”

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly, taking another bite of his breakfast, “I guess you’re right.”

“But that means,” she grinned as she buttered her toast, “you’re free tonight!”

“Oh no,” he groaned running a hand over his face.

“Oh yes!”

Bucky laid his head flat on the table next to his plate and huffed miserably.

“Each date is only a few minutes, Bucky. How bad could it be?”

He groaned again.

“‘Thank you Natasha. You’re so thoughtful and wonderful, Natasha’.” Her imitation of Bucky’s voice was borderline offensive. “I know, Bucky. You’re welcome.”

 

…..

 

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Uh,” Bucky’s assumed they’d all be personal questions; he did only have three minutes to talk to each man. He shrugged, this was only the first date, he should’ve figured it would have to get personal sometime. 

Bucky agreed, “Yeah, sure.”

“What kind of porn do you like to watch when you masturbate?”

Bucky’s jaw dropped because that was awfully abrupt and totally fucking inappropriate. What kind of person thought that was appropriate for a first date? Or first mini date or whatever the hell this was?

The Alpha looked at him impatiently and nearly rolled his eyes, “C’mon, you can be honest. Omegas have needs, I get that.”

The phrase ‘Omegas have needs’ was toeing a very close line to calling the whole of his d-sig ‘needy’, and that did not sit well with Bucky at all.

“Uh,” Bucky swallowed, throat uncomfortably dry. “I’m Bucky?” It came out as a question, the upward inflection on the end of his name slightly higher pitched than he would’ve preferred.

Had this not been a first date, maybe that wouldn’t have been so inappropriate. Even if it had been a first date, it may have been okay if it remotely related to their conversation. 

Hell, if that was the guy’s opening line, how uncomfortable would the rest of their conversation be?

He heard Natasha’s question of _How bad could it be?_ echo in his head and he made a mental note to let her know that it could be awful. 

Out of spite, Bucky kind of wanted to tell him that he preferred Alpha on Alpha porn just to piss the guy off. Despite the fact that watching two big men, knots swollen and muscles bulging, going at it straight up did it for Bucky, he knew that an Alpha wouldn’t like to hear that.

Even if upsetting the dude would’ve given him a sense of vindication, Bucky held back and just stared indignantly across the table.

The timer buzzed and the Alpha got up to move to the left. Thank fuck.

The Alpha didn’t even look back at Bucky as he moved to the next table.

It made Bucky think about just how easy it was with Steve last night, sitting across from him and feeling warm and comfortable.

The next man, with a bright blue sticker on his chest that read, “Alpha No. 2” took the seat that had been vacated.

“Kyle,” the second Alpha offered his name, and Bucky figured this guy was a better option than Number 1 over there.

“Bucky,” he responded with a hesitant smile.

“So Bucky, what do you do?”

“I’m a mechanic.” Bucky braced himself for an uncomfortable response, but Kyle just nodded in return. “And yourself?”

“Still in school.”

“Oh,” Bucky paused, “grad school?”

“Nope,” Kyle shrugged, “Undergrad.”

“Oh,” Bucky repeated, slowly realizing something. “How old are you, Kyle?”

“I’m 22.”

Nope. Bucky was 30; he was not dating someone younger than his sister. It was not going to happen.

“Oh,” Bucky repeated again, apparently as awkward as humanly possible because he now repeated the same thing three times.

Again, things with Steve had been easy. Despite the fact that he ran into Scott, Steve was perfectly polite and conversation was easy, not anything like the awkwardness he was currently experiencing.

The buzzer went off and Bucky was relieved.

Alpha Number 3 sat down across from Bucky, his chest big and puffed out, and since Bucky was a sucker, he couldn’t help but look.

The Alpha lifted a cocky eyebrow in response and Bucky was marginally embarrassed. Sure the guy wasn’t bad looking, but with only three minutes for their date, Bucky would hope they Number 3 could offer more than just good looks.

Turns out he couldn’t.

Number 4 introduced himself and they shook hands, like a normal well-mannered person would do.

Okay, Bucky’s shoulders relaxed an inch, maybe this guy wouldn’t be so bad.

“I’ve never tried speed dating,” Number 4 sounded almost apologetic.

“Me neither,” Bucky agreed, almost feeling comfortable for the first time that evening.

“Do you like baseball?” Bucky smiled as Number 4 asked. It was an innocuous question, unlike Masturbator Number 1, and this was a question he could easily answer.

“Yes,” Bucky agreed semi-excitedly, relaxing a little more. “The Yankees are everything.”

“Oh,” Number 4’s expression was vaguely aggressive, “I hate the Yankees.”

Well, that wasn’t going to work. Where was the buzzer?

“I bet you take a knot real well, with a big body like that.”

Fuck you, Number 5.

(Though, for the record, Bucky had it on good authority that he did take a knot beautifully, provided you were lucky enough to see it, which this douchebag was not.)

“I’m going to be honest,” Number 6 sat down, and looked annoyed before he was even settled in the chair. “I’m not interested in you.”

“Oh,” Bucky’s eyes widened because hey, he appreciated honestly as much as the next guy, but he didn’t expect that. 

If they were allowed to come right out and say that, why didn’t he say the same to the first five dudes?

That was besides the point, though. How did Number 6 know he wasn’t interested in Bucky? He didn’t even know Bucky. Bucky was a catch.

“It’s not you,” Number 6 lifted a shoulder and almost looked bored before his face shifted back to annoyance, “My family signed me up for this and pushed me into it. I have a partner already.”

“Huh,” Well, That was at least surprising. “Does your family know that?”

“Yes.”

“If you have a partner already, why the hell would they sign you up for speed dating?”

Number 6 seems to really focus on Bucky for the first time, and he sighed heavily while his shoulders dropped. “He’s a Beta.”

Bucky paused for a moment before the meaning behind Number 6’s statement really sunk in.

“Wow,” he sounded sympathetic, “that really sucks.”

“Yeah,” Number 6 gave Bucky a poor imitation of a smile, “yeah, it really does.”

Bucky frowned. It was discouraging that people still carried the attitudes that Alphas and Omegas had to be together, and that Betas could only be with Betas.

His mom was overbearing, sure, and she was constantly pushing Bucky to ‘settle down’ (whatever the hell that meant), but at least she was encouraging to settle down with anyone. His folks didn’t shame him for dating Omegas or Betas, and they certainly didn’t shame him for only dating men either.

Freddi Barnes was more concerned about Bucky’s impending spinster-hood than she was about his d-sig. He figured his mom would be throwing a party (and/or planning a wedding) as soon as he brought anyone home, even if it was another Omega.

“For what it’s worth,” Bucky started gently as Number 6 looked up, “I hope it works out with your Beta.”

Number 6 gave Bucky a genuine smile, “Thanks. Me too.”

Numbers 7 and 8 were, surprisingly, not awful. They were, however, two of the most boring people Bucky had ever met. If Number 7 were a color, Bucky was pretty sure he’d be beige. Number 8 would probably be off-white. 

Further proof that biology wasn’t everything. Those two had clearly been Alphas, but Bucky had zero interest in either one of them.

“John,” Number 9 announced easily as he sat across from Bucky.

“Hey,” Bucky responded, wondering if there was any chance at all of redeeming this evening, “Bucky.”

“What do you do for fun, Bucky?” Well, that was a normal thing to ask at least.

“I like Baseball,” Bucky started to wonder why there were no drinks at the table. If he had to suffer through awkward -and awful- small talk, he should at least be able to drink while doing it.

“Mets fan?”

Bucky scoffed, “Yankees.”

“Good,” John smiled, “that was a test and you passed.”

That was borderline flirty and John was a Yankees fan. He had potential. Bucky relaxed a fraction.

“Same question,” he lifted an eyebrow, “what do you do for fun?”

“I take towels from hotels.” 

...What? 

Judging by the easy smile on John's face, he didn’t realize what he just said.

“Huh?” Bucky questioned, completely inelegantly but he didn’t care.

“Not multiple towels from the same place. Just, every time I stay at a hotel, I take one clean towel home with me. You should see my linen closet. I’ve got a whole stack of towels I never had to pay for.”

“Uhh,” Bucky sat there awkwardly as he attempted to form a response when the buzzer thankfully went off.

Then he realized something. All nine men he’d talked to were clearly duds. People who had a Saturday night free to do speed dating were clearly a bunch of duds, and that meant he fell into that bucket as well.

He couldn’t have that.

Moreso, he couldn’t stomach the idea of sitting through 20 more of these awful dates. This was as bad as he normal blind dates, but also 30 times as worse.

“You’re awfully big for an Omega,” Number 10 started as he settled in the vacant chair across from Bucky’s.

That was it. Bucky was done.

“Well,” Bucky started as he stood up, “you’re wearing overalls and it isn’t 1997.”

That was obviously the end of his first (and last) speed dating adventure, and he turned and walked out, ignoring anyone who was watching him go.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket to send _Worst Dating Experience Ever_ to Natasha before walking to the nearest subway stop.

She couldn’t be too mad at him, he figured as he boarded the subway. He really did give it a try, and he probably lasted longer than most people would. Those Alphas might be the right man for someone (though Bucky doubted anyone would mate Off-White or Masturbator over there), but they were not right for Bucky.

He amended his list of ‘no more blind dates’ to now include ‘no more speed dating, ever’ because he was not going through that again.

Besides, he mused hopefully as the train nearer his stop, maybe he wouldn’t have to date around so much anymore. He and Steve had instant chemistry together. Though it was only one drink, he was firmly interested to see where it could go. He had no doubt in his mind that they were physically compatible, especially with the fucking phenomenal way Steve’d stimulated his scent glands.

So, yeah, Bucky was pretty sure the physical aspect of their relationship would be off the charts.

Assuming Steve hadn’t been blowing Bucky off and actually intended to see him again, Bucky would be happy to do so.

If Steve had been trying to find an easy way to let Bucky down, he considered as he stepped off the Subway platform and headed towards his place, then he’d be pretty disappointed.

It wasn’t even that all his other dates were awful (though it was worth repeating that every last speed date was, and that was never happening again), it’s just that Steve was kind of great.

Even if Bucky hadn’t been so determined to find Mr. Right, he still would’ve wanted to spend more time with Steve. He really did think they could make good friends, though he’d much prefer it to be more than that.

Bucky turned the corner to see a man dressed in a polo shirt and jeans knocking on the yellow door that led up to his place.

“Hey,” he said as he jogged up, keys visible in his hand.

“Oh, good,” The man, an Omega, responded as he pulled a clipboard out from under his arm, “You’re 201?”

The man’s shirt had “Castle’s Arrangements” embroidered on the left slide and, recognizing the number for his apartment, Bucky nodded.

“Good timing, I just need you to sign here.”

Bucky signed the offered clipboard before the delivery man pulled out a soft malleable bundle, wrapped in brown paper, from the messenger bag at his side. There didn’t seem to be a label on it other than his address (his apartment, not the below it, he noticed), so he thanked the delivery man before unlocking the door and bringing the parcel up with him.

Whatever was in the bundle, it would be more interesting than those awful speed dates he’d had with Number 7 and Number 8.

Though, he figured, literally anything would be more interesting than those two.

He gingerly set the parcel down on his table because it seemed so soft. Tearing the masking tape, he pulled off the brown mailer paper. Underneath was a layer of green tissue so he casually pulled that off too.

Bucky’s eyes widened in surprise as he was greeted with a bundle of what appeared to be wild flowers.

No one had sent Bucky flowers before, and he eagerly fingered through the delicate petals until he found a card.

_Bucky,_

_Though I had to cancel our plans, I’m still thinking about you. Looking forward to our next date._

_Steve_

That was an unexpected, but welcome, surprise and Bucky’s heart skipped a beat. 

Oh goodness, Steve was thinking of Bucky.

The note was short and to the point, Steve’s tidy cursive as beautiful and succinct as his message. It was impressively honest and thoughtful. After dating his fair share of jerks, Brock the Cheater being one of them, the honesty was a breath of fresh air.

Brock had never sent Bucky flowers. 

Maybe it was because he was an Omega, or maybe it had nothing at all to do with his d-sig, but, hell, Bucky liked being wooed.

He lifted the bundle of flowers up towards his face so that he could inhale the pleasant floral scent before digging through his cabinets for a vase. Despite the fact that he’d never had fresh flowers here that he could think of, he was pretty sure he had one somewhere.

Clearly Steve hadn’t been trying to let him down and was just as interested as Bucky was. Natasha must’ve been right in the fact that Steve was a bit traditional.

Still, Bucky grinned to himself as he sent a ‘thank you’ text to Steve. Feeling emboldened and confident, he followed it up with an selfie while holding the bundle.

All the speed dating Alphas were easily forgotten about, and Bucky’s heart jumped at the thought of seeing Steve again.


	7. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile) is my Beta Bondmate who beta'd this chapter.

Surprisingly, Wednesday was turning into Bucky’s busiest day this week, and he found himself on his back on a creeper, underneath an old Volkswagen first thing in the morning. He had a long list of things to get done so that he could make his deadlines for the end of the week.

The first half of his week had been uneventful, he’d kept busy with work and once again, schlepping to Nat and Clint’s place so that he could repair Clint’s damn lawnmower, which he was sure was really on its last legs though Clint disagreed.

Bucky set his screwdriver down next to him and reached for a wrench as the dirty fingers of his opposite hand attempted to make room for it on the underside of the car.

Bucky really loved his job and was happy that business was so successful lately, but as a small business owner, he was working all the time. Bucky was starting to think that he should plan a vacation sometime soon to give himself a break. He could ever go somewhere with poor cell service so that he could avoid all the calls from his mother.

Hell, maybe he didn’t even need a whole vacation. Maybe he just needed some alone time. Maybe he should just invest some money in a new vibrator. Ever since that moment on his doorstep last Friday, he’d been thinking of Steve nonstop and his poor body had been responding in kind. Bucky had a high sex drive, an unsurprising token Omega trait, but this had been ridiculous. Jerking off every other day was normal. NeedIng two orgasms to feel satisfied outside of heat? Well, he’d been keeping busy, that was for sure.

It was that stupid memory of Steve rubbing his scent glands. Sure, the kissing had been wonderful, but, fuck, Steve’s fingers on his neck had him twisted up like never before.

(Or, rather, had his briefs metaphorically twisted up.)

It also made him reconsider all the sex he’d had in the past. That was barely more than kissing outside his front door, and that Alpha knew how to work his body better than anyone previous.

How many Alphas that he’d been with had been able to stimulate him that way? Sure, he’d had plenty of other men poke or lick at his neck, but it’d never felt like it had with Steve, with that slow burn that nearly engulfed him in heat. Honestly, it seemed liked dudes usually irritated his glands more than actually stimulating them.

Had it really been that long since he’d had such good sex or had such a good partner? Scott a few weeks back had been fun, and though the Omegas and Betas he’d slept with didn’t completely satisfy him, he’d still enjoyed it all.

Heat sex with Pietro was always great, but that was about scratching an itch, so to speak. He didn’t need Pietro to rile him up since biology already took care of that. Though they spent time together outside of heat, it was never in a romantic setting, and it never got Bucky’s pulse racing like Steve had.

Steve giving him a good night kiss and some scent gland situation? It was a world of difference and it had been fan-fucking-tastic.

Maybe it was something about Steve in particular?

Not to mention that the drink he'd had with Steve had been better than any of those awful speed dates he’d experienced on Saturday.

Darcy had called off for heat leave yesterday so he couldn’t even complain to her about it. Though, there was a large chance she had heard her fill on Monday and Tuesday. So what? It’s not like Bucky had more exciting things to talk about.

Not unless you count the phone call from his mother Monday evening, where Freddi had loudly announced that she’d run into Bucky’s second cousin at the market, and that said cousin had been sporting an impressive new bond mark. So new, his mother had added in a poor attempt of a whisper, that it hadn’t even scarred over yet.

Freddi made sure to mention that if Alison, who was and Omega and just happened to be 35, had a chance, then maybe Bucky still did too—and, of course, that phrase ‘no spring chicken’ had been tossed around a few too many times.

Shortly after he’d hung up with Freddi, Becca had called him, no doubt with the same bit of gossip. When Becca has mentioned that Alison’s new bondmate had been a blind date, Bucky shut that down quickly.

No more blind dates. Ever.

He was swapping his wrench for a pair of needle-nose pliers when he heard the familiar jingle of the bell over the front entrance to the garage.

He almost ignored it, but remembering that Darcy wasn’t around to greet customers, he planted his feet on the floor and used them to roll the creeper out from under the Volkswagen.

He grinned to himself, somewhat surprised to see a big familiar Alpha standing inside the door.

On one hand, he kind of liked the idea of lying on his back and looking up at Steve.

On the other hand, this was _so_ not the time for that.

He hadn’t heard from Steve since he’d texted him Saturday night to thank him for the flowers. Though Bucky had kind of been hoping for a bigger response to his selfie, he figured he couldn’t exactly ask for more than Steve’s simple “you’re welcome.”

The flowers had nearly convinced Bucky that Steve hadn’t been trying to blow him off, but seeing the Alpha in the flesh was a pretty big indicator that wasn’t what was happening.

“Stevie,” he greeted cheerfully, pulling himself into a standing position, and grabbing the shop towel hanging from the open hood of the car to wipe his hands off. It didn’t do much, but at least his hands weren’t completely covered in grease, and he tucked the rag into the back pocket of his purple coveralls.

“Hey Bucky,” Steve was smiling and glancing around the empty garage. 

“You’re back.” He leaned back against the body of the car as Steve crossed the space to approach him.

Shit. His body really was so big.

“Yeah, got in late last night.” Steve sounded contrite, “I wanted to apologize in person for cancelling on you like that.”

“Oh,” Bucky shrugged easily, and he returned Steve’s smile, “you didn’t have to do that. Besides, I thought that’s what the flowers were for.”

“And coffee,” Steve amended, his cheeks warming in color, as he held up his left hand. Bucky instantly recognized the logo from The Coffee Bean as Steve held the cup out to him.

“Oh,” Bucky was surprised but felt butterflies in his stomach, “and coffee.”

It was such a simple thing, but there was something about it that made Bucky’s insides warm. Probably that fact that Steve had taken the time to hand deliver it. Seeing as the last guy he dated long term was that asshole Rumlow, Bucky didn’t have a whole lot of Alphas wooing him with gifts.

He reached for the offered cup from Steve and took a satisfying sip. Sure, he preferred it with milk over plain black coffee, but it was still coffee and he found himself immensely pleased that Steve had surprised him with it.

Though, by the honeyed sweet Alpha scent that was impossible to ignore, Bucky figured that Steve was just as happy about it.

What a surprising but wonderful turn of events.

Bucky looked down and the paper cup, his dirty fingers leaving dark smudges where they held it, before grinning and looking back up to Steve.

“I was hoping,” Steve cleared his throat as the blush on his cheeks deepened, “to cash in on our rain check.”

“Oh yeah?” Bucky lifted an eyebrow playfully. Despite the fact that he’d had bad luck with dating lately and the fact that his mom basically called him a spinster, flirting was easy. Flirting he could do.

Especially with an Alpha as attractive and interesting as Steve.

“What’d you have in mind?”

Bucky watched as Steve rubbed at the back of his neck. It seemed like he was a little nervous, and, frankly, it was pretty endearing. Alphas as big as Steve had no trouble looking strong and solid, and Bucky found himself appreciating how open Steve was with his emotions.

“Well,” Steve paused before continuing, “I’d like to have you over for dinner. Maybe Friday, if you’re free?”

Bucky’s eyes widened slightly. That was a little unexpected. It was an awfully traditional offer, but, come to think of it, Steve seemed pretty traditional in general. Apparently Natasha had been right about the reason Steve didn’t come up to Bucky’s apartment after their first date.

Still, traditional or not, Bucky wasn’t going to turn him down.

If Steve wanted to invite Bucky over to cook and play Alpha providing for his Omega, Bucky was definitely going to show up.

Besides, what was sexier than a man who could cook?

“Yeah, I could do dinner,” Bucky agreed easily, the edges of his lips tilting upwards, before taking a long pull of coffee. “Seven work for you?.”

And, hey, there was always a chance Steve put out on the second date. An Omega could hope.

“Yeah, that’d work.” Steve nodded once, a big smile growing on his face, and projected a scent of happiness powerful enough that Bucky barely had to inhale to smell it. “That’d be great.”

Much like the other day, Bucky was sure the scent would cling to him, but he this time, certainly wouldn’t mind. Sure, Steve smelled good, but Bucky also liked how honest it was. It was easy to read Steve both by expression and scent, and Bucky found that to be a welcome change after all those months with Brock the Cheater.

“Flowers and coffee. And now dinner?” Bucky teased Steve with an equally large grin, rocking back once on his feet. He wanted to reach out and pat Steve’s thick arms crossed over his chest, and the grease spread on his fingers was the only thing holding him back, but it was a near thing. “You’re gonna spoil me.”

Bucky was just teasing, but Steve’s face instantly flushed darker. 

“I plan to,” Steve responded seriously, his voice low. For a beat, Steve looked anywhere but Bucky, and he took a deep breath before making eye contact, “if you’ll have me, of course.”

What? Bucky paused. What was this, like 1950?

The words were heavy with implication, and a hell of a lot more intense than Bucky had been expecting for a Wednesday morning. He took a long, slow pull of coffee to buy himself some time, as he tried to gather his thoughts.

How the hell was he supposed to respond to that?

Steve stating his intentions so explicitly was pretty bold. It was not it all what Bucky had expected… Especially not after only one date.

But, his heart thumped hard once in his chest, here we are.

If it was any other Alpha, everything in his head would be shouting Red Flag and telling him to end this quicker than he had ended his date with Mel.

But, well, it wasn’t any other Alpha.

It was 2018 and Bucky could meet plenty of men for goodness sake. He met men of all d-sigs for dates and/or hook ups and had heat sex with a standing partner that he had literally zero interest in bonding with. He was a modern man.

He was pretty sure that he had the same dating habits of any other single, millennial Omega.

He’d never had an Alpha state intentions like that to him before, and though his ex boyfriend was a giant douche, even the less douchey guys he dated hadn’t done so either.

If he hadn’t already developed a little crush on Steve, and wasn’t so attracted to him, maybe it would’ve freaked Bucky out more than this.

But, he mentally shrugged to himself, Steve had been traditional the whole time. It was now blatantly obvious that’s what had been happening. Hell, Bucky should’ve seen it before, judging by how surprised Steve had looked when Bucky took it upon himself to rub at the scent gland on Steve’s wrist last Friday, and the fact that Steve didn’t verbally acknowledge that Bucky had scent marked him during that run in at The Coffee Bean, but had still seemed flustered about it.

Well, and, Bucky stomach flipped at the thought, Steve had called him ‘Little Omega’ in a way that was far too sincere to be anything but. He figured that may have been the biggest giveaway, but at the time, he was way too turned on to think of it as anything other than lust talking.

So maybe Steve seemed more serious about their fledgling relationship than Bucky did, but Bucky was still very interested, and Steve had announced it in a way that highlighted Bucky’s choice in the matter, and that was sexy as hell.

Obviously, Bucky knew he had a choice in any relationship, but he’d dated plenty of presumptuous Alpha assholes who thought their d-sig gave them ability to make all the decisions. Why on earth some Alphas thought themselves better than Omegas, Bucky would never know. His goal was to not to be with assholes like that anymore, anyway.

Steve wasn’t like that though, from everything Bucky had seen, Steve had been nothing but kind, considerate, and well-mannered. Turns out, those traits had been as welcome as they were surprising.

If he were truthful with himself, Bucky had been plenty interested in getting that Alpha knot, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to get to know Steve as a person as well.

Just… the guy was fucking hot. Bucky couldn’t be blamed for the fact that his Omega brain was begging for Steve in the carnal sense. When a man was that _big_ and smelled that good? Well, it explained why Steve checked every little box on the Omega Potential Bondmate list.

Not that Bucky was thinking about bonding with him. That’d be ridiculous. They’d only had one short date, and though it was better than the eight billion other dates he’d had in the last two months, thinking about bonding at this point would be out of the question.

Though, Bucky held back a shiver, if Steve’s fingertips had felt that good on his neck, he could only imagine what Steve’s teeth would feel like.

“Well,” Steve exhaled slowly but it didn’t seem to dim any of his enthusiasm, “I guess I should let you get back to work.”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, but with the promise of seeing Steve again in a few days, he wasn’t too disappointed about it. “Thanks for the coffee and for stopping by Steve.”

“Sure,” Steve’s face flushed warmly as he shrugged, but he didn’t seem too embarrassed, “but if I’m being perfectly honest, the coffee was just an excuse to see you.”

This time, Bucky had to fight down the instinct to blush, and since he was pretty sure it was unsuccessful, he briefly looked away from Steve. If the butterflies in his stomach had anything to say about it, he certainly liked Steve’s attention.

(And he knew the Omega part of him loved it.)

“Um,” he mumbled unsmoothly for a moment before looking back up. He answered honestly, “I don’t mind.”

“In that case,” Steve leaned slightly closer to Bucky and the air felt charged between them, “you’ll have to tell me how you take your coffee.”

“Black is okay,” He was still blushing damn it, “but I like a heavy pour of milk and one packet of sugar.”

“I’ll remember that, Bucky Barnes,” Steve responded, sounded delighted. Bucky wasn’t sure why the simple knowledge of his coffee order had Steve’s entire body radiating satisfaction, but that’s what was happening.

Bucky didn’t know what to say, as his ability to flirt seemed to go out the window in response to the sunshine spread across Steve’s face.

The flush on Bucky’s face deeped as Steve leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Bucky’s cheek. A little cheek kiss shouldn’t get to him this much - he’d let Steve touch his scent gland less than a week ago, for goodness sake.

“See you later, Little Omega.”

The feeling startled Bucky for a moment, but then heat uncoiled in his chest as his whole body warmed as he watched Steve turn and exit the garage, the big Alpha surprisingly light on his feet.

For the second time since he’d met Steve Rogers, Bucky very much watched his ass as the Alpha walked away.

And then, once he was alone, cursed himself for getting totally tongue tied in Steve’s presence.

Fuck.

And he’d actually thought that Steve had been blowing him off last Saturday?

Bucky turned quickly to look at the wipe off board on the wall, though he knew it was Wednesday.

That meant two days til Friday.

… _Little Omega_. Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can [ find me on tumblr](http://colorcoated01.tumblr.com/), even though I don't really understand tumblr. Come talk Stucky Trash with me. 
> 
> Comments = Love


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running out of jokes, I don't know. Wahhhhh. So we'll just go with this from now on: [ SiriusGray ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriusGrey/profile) is the best Beta ever and I Iove her.

Despite the fact that every bit of Bucky wanted to be distracted, he was doing his best to stay focused.

The fact of the matter was that it was only noon and he had a whole half of a workday to get through before he could see Steve for dinner.

Steve sending Bucky a text message containing his address no more than an hour ago had Bucky’s stomach already flip-flopping at the prospect of their upcoming evening.

Steve was making Bucky dinner, like some old Alpha in the 50s or something. It wasn’t totally unheard of, and certainly not for bondmates, but this was only his and Steve’s second date.

Way to put all your cards on the table, Steve.

On one hand, Bucky was undoubtedly pleased. Steve was clearly an Alpha to be reckoned with, All big and muscley and smelling like fresh rain and pine trees. For Bucky to catch Steve’s eye? Well, it was kind of great.

Obviously, his ruggedly handsome looks were finally being appreciated.

But, on the other hand, the idea of Steve so blatantly and openly confessing his interest in Bucky? Well, it could be a little intimidating.

Though his mother would have something to say about Bucky being 30 and unmated, he still wasn’t sure if he was ready to settle down.

Sure, he would like to date an Alpha that wasn’t _the worst_ (fuck you very much, Brock), but Steve was going all in and as much as it made butterflies kick up in his stomach, it was also a lot.

But, hell, it was obvious that there was much more to Steve than his Alpha body and his knot, and Bucky figured that he really wanted to get to know the guy.

Bucky heard the bell jingle above his shop door even from the very back corner of his garage where he was digging through a partially organized shelf.

This was his business, his livelihood, the least he could do is keep his work area put together for the three days Darcy was out. 

“Be right there!” He called out loudly, spotting the errant ignition wires he’d been looking for, and mentally grumbling at the new ‘organization’ system Natasha had tried to implement on his inventory last month. 

He sniffed twice before turning around, and was able to label Alpha though he didn’t recognize the person specifically. It wasn’t a surprise though, Bucky found that he got a lot of business by foot traffic. Potential customers often stopped in to make sure an Omega-owned garage was actually legit before giving Bucky their business.

Rounding the corner to the main space, he saw a gruff-looking Alpha standing near the reception desk with a polite smile on his face, wearing the same embroidered polo shirt Bucky had seen a few days ago.

Bucky tempered a grin. “Can I help you?”

“You Barnes?”

“Yup,” he answered, shoving the wires into the back pocket of his thankfully blue coveralls as a clipboard was passed his way, the need for his signature obvious.

After signing his name, Bucky traded the clipboard for a large bundle wrapped in mailer paper.

The delivery man left and Bucky let the smile that had been tugging at his lips take over his face.

His heart skipped a beat as he carefully removed the brown paper and layers of green tissue beneath.

Inhaling the scent before he saw it, Bucky stomach flip-flopped as he held a large bunch of half a dozen sunflowers in front of him. It seemed like an unexpected choice for a flower, but seeing as one, he only received flowers for the first time last week and two, he actually didn’t have any knowledge of them, he figured it was a good choice.

Besides, the bundle seemed as bright and cheerful as anything and Bucky immediately liked them. The flowers themselves were large, bigger than Bucky’s fist, with long stems and Bucky found that he liked how they weren’t delicate like typical flowers and they seemed hardy.

He really did love being wooed.

Of course, Bucky’s excitement at the flowers was nothing compared to how he felt as he read the tiny card tucked into the bundle.

_Buck,  
Looking forward to seeing you tonight._

_Steve_

Bucky’s heart may have skipped another beat as he considered just how thoughtful this Alpha was and how much he was also looking forward to seeing Steve as well.

_Buck._

Hell, he was almost giddy.

If Bucky was honest with himself, he hadn’t looked forward to a date like this in a long time.

All those dumb blind dates weren’t exactly an exciting event, they were more a means to an end so he wouldn’t have to show up at his grandparents’ anniversary party completely solo. He hadn’t been trying to meet Mr. Right as much as he had been trying to meet Mr. Alright For Now.

And even before that, he hadn’t exactly looked forward to the time he’d been spending with Brock. Even though Brock had been his actual boyfriend and was fantastic in the sack, and Bucky naively believed it when Brock said he wouldn’t cheat on Bucky again, the magic between the two of them had dimmed after the first time Bucky caught Brock with another Omega.

Ugh.

Pushing aside the thoughts of Brock because they were more annoying than anything else, Bucky went back to smiling at the sunflowers.

Rather than take them up to his apartment, he pulled an old oil can that had been cleaned out off a shelf and filled it with water, the makeshift vase letting him enjoy the flowers while he worked.

Having the opportunity to glance over at the bunch of flowers all afternoon didn’t make time go by any faster, but it did make him smile, so Bucky figured it was a win.

Luckily, Bucky didn’t have any customers scheduled to pick up their vehicles that day, but he still had a number of things to get accomplished if he wanted to be on track for Monday. The shop phone only rang a few times, but without Darcy around to answer it, he let it go to voicemail so that he could get his work done.

His cell phone only rang once, but when Bucky saw that is was his mother, he sent that to voicemail as well. He could talk to her some other time (which he would undoubtedly do, as she had been calling him daily for the last week).

He switched the phone to vibrate and set it on his workbench so he wouldn’t be distracted.

One thing was certain: he would not be mentioning Steve or Steve’s intentions to his mother, because the lady would be planning their bonding ceremony before he got to the end of the sentence, or before his and Steve’s second date. Whatever came first. 

By the time it hit 5:00, his was about ready to vibrate out of his coveralls, though he wasn’t sure if it would be from nerves or excitement.

Bucky took a deep breath before stepping into the locker room and dropping his coveralls into the hamper. Already having locked up the shop, he didn’t bother to get dressed, and Bucky snuck up the back staircase in nothing but his shoes, briefs, and undershirt.

He took his time in the shower, admittedly hoping for some kind of action tonight. If Steve wanted to take things slow, that’d be fine, but Bucky was more than hoping for a chance to get lucky. 

In which case, he wanted to be prepared.

He conditioned his hair and made sure to thoroughly clean every part of his body, just in case. He’d had sex with Scott a couple weeks ago, but with Bucky’s sex drive and all the fantasizing he’d been doing about Steve, it certainly felt like it’d been a long time since he’d gotten laid. It felt like much longer than he would’ve preferred anyway.

Omegas had needs.

Needs for a big, beefy, blonde Alpha specifically.

After getting dressed in his tightest jeans and tying his hair back in its signature ponytail at the nape of his neck, Bucky grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone and headed out of the house, butterflies making moves in his stomach the whole time.

Having looked up Steve’s address earlier, it was easy for Bucky to hop on the correct subway line. It was less easy to stop his palms from sweating and he wiped them once on his jeans.

For all his projected confidence with Steve earlier that week, now that their dinner was actually happening, he found himself fighting a bit of nerves.

When he reached Steve’s place, Bucky took a deep breath and hit the buzzer next to Steve’s name.

Omega up, Barnes. Just because Steve is giant and big and gorgeous and has a perfect ass, doesn’t mean there’s any reason to be nervous. Aside from getting tongue tied once, Bucky could flirt like a pro. And, sure, maybe his dating life depended on it, but he wasn’t going to think about that now.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, so he pulled it out to look at the new text message from his mom.

_Sweetpea, met a Beta at the grocery store who held door for me. Gave him your number! Good luck!_

Bucky muffled a groan as he heard the deadbolt turn, and he quickly shoved his phone back in his pocket. Sadly, this wasn’t the first time his mother had done that. The Beta he talked to last month hadn’t even wanted to call him, but ‘this lady is making me feel really guilty because she won’t leave until I call you and introduce myself’.

His mother, ladies and gentlemen. It hadn’t been pretty.

Those feeling were easy to push aside though, thank goodness, as the door swung open and a certain beefy Alpha was grinning at Bucky like he’d just won the lottery.

Steve’s scent was all happiness mixed with pine and Bucky’s inner Omega was begging to roll around in it.

“Hey Bucky,” Steve greeted, and reached out to take Bucky’s hand, lightly squeezing his fingers before dropping it, “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Me too,” he answered honestly as Steve gestured Bucky into his apartment.

It smelled really good as he followed Steve into the kitchen, and not just the sweet Alpha scent.

“Pasta?” Bucky questioned hopefully, when he could smell something akin to marinara sauce.

“Yeah,” Steve seemed very pleased at Bucky’s reaction as he moved around him to open the fridge, “my late Ma’s recipe.”

If Bucky had thoughts about Steve serving him family recipes, they were quickly pushed to the side as he looked around the kitchen.

The whole table had been set, but looked much more inviting than formal. The table sat four, but only two place settings directly across from each other had been made up. There were pale yellow placemats over the cherry wood of the table, glasses of ice water next to each plate, and not to mention the particularly delicious salad in a large bowl near the settings.

There was a tall vase with one sunflower in it, slightly smaller than the flowers in Bucky’s bunch, resting in the center of the table, and something about that made Bucky look down at his feet and try to hide a smile.

“If you want to take a seat,” A tilt of Steve’s head indicated the table, “dinner is just about ready.”

It was nice of him to offer, really, and Bucky was almost certain Steve was doing it to be generous, but Bucky did not want Steve thinking he was the type of Omega that needed to be served rather than pull his own weight.

“I’d rather help, if you need it.” Bucky said with a little smile, which was apparently the right thing to say, seeing as Steve looked incredibly pleased. 

“Sure,” Steve responded agreeably, voice buoyant, “there’s a bottle of red chilling in the fridge and wine glasses in that cabinet to your left, if you don’t mind.”

“You got it.”

Bucky pulled the glasses from the cabinet and placed them on the table, but as he was about to open the fridge, Steve bent down in front of the open oven, and Bucky was given a fantastic opportunity to stare directly at Steve’s ass.

Steve really was gorgeous; his body was so beefy and thick that Bucky couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel above his.

He loved beefy men - who didn’t? Signs of strength and virility were hardwired into Omegas as attractive traits, and it just so happened that large Alphas, possibly Steve in particular, had them in spades.

Bucky suppressed a shiver as he recalled the feeling of Steve’s fingers ever so gently brushing against his scent glands. He wanted more of that, and more of Steve’s lips against his own.

As Steve’s posture straightened and he placed a wonderful-smelling dish onto the counter, Bucky found the wine bottle in the fridge and set it on the table.

Something in Bucky lit up as he watched Steve plate two heaping servings of lasagna into the waiting pasta bowls on the counter.

On one hand, Bucky was a big guy, big for an Omega—big for any d-sig, really—and Steve was serving them the same size portions. Not expecting Bucky to eat daintily like an Omega half his size was stunningly considerate. Sure, Bucky’s physical size was immediately noticeable, but not many Alphas assumed that he actually wanted to eat as heartily as his body demanded.

On the other hand, Steve was providing food for Bucky, and every Omega instinct in him responded to that. His attraction to Steve at the Red Star when the Alpha was all smiles, good nature and great conversation was nothing compared to what it was now. Bucky’s insides practically fluttered in response as he found himself _wanting_ Steve in a number of different ways.

Steve’s head tilted to the side with a snap and he inhaled, not doubt instinctively, as he finished filling the second bowl. Spatula still in hand, Steve was too polite to react, but Bucky knew that Steve had caught the scent of his desire. It would’ve been hard to hide.

Maybe Bucky was a little embarrassed, but it honestly shouldn’t have been a surprise and he had no problem with Steve being aware of it. Hell, Steve had made his intentions with Bucky clear; Bucky didn’t mind if Steve knew exactly was he was thinking as well.

He took a step forward and lightly touched Steve’s arm. The Alpha went easily, turning his body fully so that his back was now against the counter and he was looking directly at Bucky.

Bucky couldn’t help the look on his face in response; Steve really was incredibly good looking and Bucky just happened to appreciate it.

He stepped quickly into Steve’s space, but paused to see if Steve would stop him. Rather than that, Steve was looking at Bucky intensely, fisting his hands at his sides.

Bucky pushed up onto his toes and pressed his lips against Steve’s, the kiss wet and open mouthed against Steve’s soft lips. A small growl, a clear alpha noise, managed to tumble from Steve’s throat as Bucky pulled away, making Bucky’s heart hammer in his chest.

He wanted so much more of that.

Bucky’s body was fighting to respond to the heated look on Steve’s face, as the Alpha breathed hard and noisily through his now open mouth. It took a moment, Bucky watching with want blurred across his face, but Steve swallowed hard and slowed his heavy breathing.

“You know,” Steve’s voice was low but easily sincere and Bucky was in no way surprised that the Alpha always seemed to be completely honest, “I didn’t invite you over to…”

Steve’s voice trailed off but a definite blush graced his features as Bucky started to tease him. Clearly Steve was doing his best to be polite.

“Invite me over to what, Stevie?” Bucky wasn’t sure where the nickname came from, but it felt natural when he’d used it Wednesday at the garage, so he went with it again today, giving Steve an exaggerated wink and playful smile.

“No,” Steve’s voice was a little huffy, a thread of something akin to exasperation cut into his embarrassment. “I really do want to get to know you.”

Bucky smiled in response, a real genuine smile that slowly built on his face. He believed Steve, didn’t doubt him at all, and that was the best part about it.

Steve clearly could scent Bucky’s happiness because his brow creased and he tilted his head in question, not quite understanding why.

If a man, specifically an Alpha, that looked like Steve and acted like Steve had invited Bucky up to his place under the guise of ‘getting to know him’, Bucky would not be surprised nor would he be disappointed if it was a half-hearted cover for sex.

Bucky liked hooking up, and had no qualms about getting physical with Steve. Suffice it to say, he was enthusiastically the opposite.

Bucky thought it was sweet that Steve was making such a point to let Bucky know about his interest in more than just sex.

“Stevie,” he began because the nickname was cute as hell for such a big Alpha and rolled naturally off his tongue. He placed both his hands on the broad width of Steve’s massive shoulders. He squeezed once before sliding them down the sides to Steve’s outrageously thick biceps and rested them there. “I’m going to be honest with you.”

Steve nodded as he looked down at Bucky’s hands on him. There was a warmth on his cheeks when he looked back up at Bucky’s face.

“I like you,” it seemed like a good enough opener and Steve was clearly pleased by it. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

“I like you too,” Steve added quietly, and Bucky grinned wide in response to that. His stomach also flip flopped.

“Good.” Bucky continued, still smiling easily but trying to emphasize the sincerity of his words.

“Though, I like doing this -“ Bucky stretched up on his toes and pressed a quick, chaste kiss against Steve’s lips and feeling a rush as he did so - “it isn’t the only thing I want, okay?”

Now all his cards were on the table. Apparently, Bucky was going for it. He’d be a fool if he didn’t at least explore the connection with Steve. The physical chemistry was obvious, and Bucky had big plans to _explore_ that, but there certainly was a chance that there was something else between them.

Bucky’s hand slid back up those mouth-watering biceps to rest on either one of Steve’s shoulders again, and he could feel tension bleed out of them.

He really liked getting to touch Steve.

“I just,” Steve huffed and shook his head ruefully before trying again. “I can’t seem to keep my hands off of you, but I want this to be more than just something physical. I’d really like to continue seeing you.”

Even then, Steve’s big palms were wrapped around Bucky’s hips.

Bucky’s hands moved from Steve’s shoulders and slid gently down to Steve’s pectorals. As they were having a serious conversation, Bucky held back the urge to cop a feel, but it wasn’t easy. Every little touch he placed on Steve’s big, strong Alpha body had his instincts lighting up. He was buzzing with the need to tuck his body under Steve’s chin, and feel like a small, soft Omega.

“Steve,” he offered the Alpha a smile as he tried to ignore his instincts, “I’m not going to do anything that you don’t want to do. If you’re not comfortable with us doing more than kissing, that is fine with me. But, I want you to know, no matter what we choose to do together, that I’m not thinking of this as a purely physical relationship.”

Not anymore anyway.

Sure, something physical had maybe been Bucky’s plan when he first saw Steve watching the Yankees, but that had certainly changed after getting to know Steve a bit. If Steve wasn’t quite so traditional, Bucky wouldn’t have felt the need to explain himself, but knowing that Steve had clearly stated his intentions, Bucky wanted the Alpha to know exactly where he stood in turn. 

“Okay,” Steve said nodding at Bucky, “Okay.”

Now that that was covered, Bucky’s smile tugged down into a smirk and he moved his hand to the back of Steve’s neck to anchor himself. He pushed up onto his toes again to make up for the difference in height and slotted his lips against Steve’s.

Unlike the previous kiss, there was nothing innocent about this one. It was wet and deep, and had Bucky pushing his chest up against Steve’s.

It took Steve a moment, no doubt caught by surprise, but he quickly began kissing back, his big hands curling around Bucky’s hips, and holding Bucky’s body in place close to his.

Steve’s tongue teased against Bucky’s lips, almost shyly, and when Bucky pulled back to catch his breath, he heard a pleased growl tumble out from the back of Steve’s throat and the Omega in Bucky preened.

Bucky was staring at Steve’s lips, no doubt wanting more, when Steve’s grip loosened and he dropped his hands from Bucky’s body.

“We should eat,” Steve suggested, with a tiny shake of his head and rueful smile on his face. He was probably in the same boat as Bucky.

Because Bucky was 100% sure that if he started kissing Steve again, he wasn’t going to stop.

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, only marginally tongue tied.

It felt good, really good, to have Steve’s lips on his and their bodies so close together. Steve’s body was so big and hard and enticing. 

Not to mention, he smelled so fucking good.

And Bucky had completely forgotten about the dinner Steve had prepared while they had been kissing. It would be really easy to get lost in that Alpha.

Bucky’s eyes widened in surprise as Steve approached the table. He figured Steve would just sit down and get comfortable and that he would do the same.

What he didn’t expect was for Steve to pull out the chair and look over at Bucky with a shy smile and pink, rosy cheeks.

“Oh,” Bucky replied dumbly because he didn’t know what else to do. This wasn’t what he was used to.

Kissing in the kitchen? He could do that. He was good at that.

The little smile was firmly in place on Steve’s face as he waited for Bucky to get his shit together, or so Bucky figured.

It took a minute, his heart beating harder than it should’ve, as he stepped forward and took the chair that Steve had offered him, holding back a noise of surprise as Steve pushed the chair in as Bucky settled his ass into it.

“Uh, thanks,” he added because he had literally no idea what the hell to say to that, but Steve nodded and his cheeks darkened.

There were full water glasses already on the table, and when Steve held up the wine bottle and Bucky nodded, Steve filled those as well.

Steve grabbed the full pasta bowls from the counter and placed one in front of Bucky first, then one across from him, where Steve sat down, a smile on his face.

“I hope you like it.”

As soon as Steve was seated, Bucky wasted no time digging in. He was hungry and frankly, had been waiting all day for this. He wasn’t some tiny flower of an Omega who was going to pick at his food.

“Steve,” Bucky practically groaned out after a big bite of pasta, “this is amazing. It tastes even better than it smells.”

Steve sat up a little straighter and preened. Hell, praising an Alpha for what they could provide was a big compliment, but it was well deserved. Steve was clearly a great cook.

“Thank you,” Steve responded quietly, a large satisfied smile firmly on his face as he dug into his own food.

Way too focused on the lasagna in front of him to start a conversation, Bucky took another bite before saying anything else.

“So,” Steve took a sip of wine, the ease of happiness surrounding him still, “How was your week?”

“Aside from being pleasantly surprised with sunflowers this afternoon?”

Steve’s cheeks warmed slightly but he was pleased that Bucky mentioned his gift. “Yeah, aside from that.”

“It was fine,” Bucky answered, thinking through it, “kind of busy, but that’s good for business.”

“You like being a mechanic?” 

Bucky was happy to note that Steve asked the question easily, conversationally.

“Yeah,” Bucky nodded, “can’t picture myself doing anything else. My ma used to say that I was born with engine oil in my veins.”

“The way you took care of my motorcycle was impressive.”

Bucky flushed at the compliment. “I’ve always liked taking things apart and putting them back together.”

“Plus, you look pretty cute in pink coveralls.”

“Steve!” Bucky practically sputtered, immediately embarrassed. Or mostly embarrassed anyway. Though the way Steve was looking at him lessened the burning of his cheeks a little bit, he still looked down at his plate and broke eye contact.

Stupid Darcy and her predisposition to rainbow colors.

He cleared his throat, “They were supposed to be blue. There was an ordering mishap.”

Steve was grinning and he shrugged unbothered, “Still looked cute.”

Bucky blushed more but couldn’t stop the tiny smile pulling at his lips. 

Steve grinned harder and lifted his fork to continue eating.

Bucky took a long pull of wine in an attempt to get himself together. By the time he was finished, he was marginally hopefully that some of the flush faded from his cheeks.

“What about you?” He questioned, “how was your week?”

“It was fine, thanks.” Steve set down his fork to reach for his own glass. “I don’t mind traveling for work, usually I even like it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It is inconvenient at times, though, like when it comes up last minute and I’m forced to reschedule certain things.”

“Oh, yeah?” Bucky was really smiling now.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed easily, flirting back like it was nothing. “Like dates with a cute Omega that I had been looking forward to.”

Bucky’s stomach flip flopped as Steve called him cute for the second time. It made his insides feel like jelly. It made his palms sweat a little bit. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat once.

Bucky had to stop getting flustered around Steve because flirting was something he knew how to do.

Get it together, Barnes.

“How cute are we talkin’?” Bucky questioned back with a sly smile and a raise of his eyebrow.

“Oh,” Steve drew out the word slowly with a devastatingly sexy grin on his lips, “you got no idea.”

Bucky’s heart skipped a beat as Steve continued.

“Smells sweet like honey, pretty hair, pretty lips, and a killer jawline.”

Bucky had nearly cleared his plate already, but now the swooping low in his stomach guaranteed that he was done eating and he set his fork back down. He could scent Steve easily, and Bucky reached for his glass of water, hoping it would cool him down.

“Cute little ponytail and coveralls usually covered in grease.” Steve shrugged, “What more could I want?”

That Alpha was so fucking smooth. Steve played all nice and sweet and traditional in the kitchen, but apparently he had no issue turning on the charm when he wanted to. Well, Bucky could be pretty damn charming himself.

“Hmm,” Bucky cleared his throat and took another long sip before putting down his glass and continuing, “I could think of a few things.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can [ find me on tumblr](http://colorcoated01.tumblr.com/), even though I don't really understand tumblr. Come talk Stucky Trash with me. 
> 
> Comments = Love


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